Within The Walls
by Ritchet
Summary: Within the game Super Mario 64, Peach and the other toads are referred to as being trapped within the walls. What could that mean? Are they simply trapped in a room? With a castle that had gateways to other dimensions, what else could be there?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Colored light streamed downwards from the sunlight shining through the stain glass window. Peach set down her parasol as she allowed it to bathe over her pink gown dress. This was the day, the day that the castle's renovation would finally be completed. White shining marble now reflected the sun's light, that the entire Mushroom Kingdom could feel the warm and inviting shine of the castle. Even the emblem on the front, once a mere window, now bore her visage in a myriad of colors. That light now shone down upon her as the toads gathered from various parts of the castles, as if waiting to hear her announcement.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you here, now that the castle is complete. As you know this day wouldn't have been possible if not for the amazing efforts of the Mario Brothers." The many paintings she had found in the pit of the castle were now being put to use, the foyer was decorated with bright clouds and blue sky. The sun was emblazoned onto the floor where the sun shone through the stain glass window. Years of torment and kidnapping by the horn-shelled Bowser had prevented her from being able to carry out this task. Now, thanks to Mario and Luigi, the castle's generational renovation was complete. "As a thank you for their service, we will hold a royal party in their honor. Of course, this will include a cake!" Peach smiled as her mention of a cake elicited excitement from the various toads that had lined up within the entry hall.

"But... Princess Toadstool! We haven't completely set up the living quarters yet! The castle looks like no one could possibly live here!" One toad spoke out from the front of the crowd. Peach smiled in response as she stepped forward to get a better look at him. Like most of the other toads he wasn't very tall, small stubby body, as well as the mushroom shaped head. His head was covered in a blue spiral, spinning around from the base of the sides onto the top. Toadstool had always wondered what had caused the odd designs on their heads. Each one seemed to be slightly different, either in color or design.

"You're right, Fernil, if we're going to have cake, we need to have some place to eat it. I was thinking of using the courtyard. It would give us a perfect view of the castle." The suggestion seemed to please Fernil, though she chided herself for forgetting about simple living quarters while remodeling. Since she'd already sent out the invitations to both Mario brothers, there simply wasn't time now! Peach moved slowly up the staircase as she imagined Mario's response to the way the castle looked. He might be relieved to see her more often in a situation besides kidnapping!

Just before Peach was able to enter the main gallery a frantic series of footsteps sounded behind her. There was hardly enough time to turn before Elnar, one of her messengers to the kingdom at large, knocked her over. Peach gasped as she hit the ground, taking a moment to collect herself before holding up an hand to stop the guards from moving in onto the equally dazed Elnar.

"Eln..elnar, what is it?" Toadstool brought herself to her feet with the help of the guards who kept an uneasy eye on the small toad with the green circles. Elnar took a few moments to collect his breath before running towards Peach again.

"L...luigi wasn't home!.... But...but I saw them! the Koopa Troopa are coming! More of them than I've ever seen!" Peach found her hands shaking as she heard the words. Was Bowser going to try to attack now? On the day that the castle had finally reached its completion? "I...I haven't heard from Juri, she was supposed to deliver the invitation to Mario!" Elnar added, his speech coming faster and faster as he tried to maintain his wits.

"Elnar, it's ok. You'll be safe here." Peach ran her hand reassuringly over Elnar's cap, trying to keep him from feeling the shaking in her hand. "Guards, bring me the captain." The first words she had spoken in an authoritative tone, Toadstool was surprised, she didn't think herself capable of such force in her voice.

It didn't take long. Less than an hour later she found herself in the tower along with the captain of the guard, Gelior, as well as the toads he considered his top men. For several minutes all was silent, save the ticking of the clock that sat in the center of the room. The bright blue and white colored motif did not bring any ease to the occupants. Captain Gelior himself was an older toad, a long grey moustache pointed outwards from both sides of his head keeping in tone with his mostly silver colored cap. As far as she knew, Gelior had served as the captain for not only her father, but her grandfather's royal guard as well. They didn't have the face Bowser though, she reminded herself.

"Mrhmm... Your Highness Princess Toadstool. As per the reports of the messenger Elnar, and confirmed by our Latuki spies, the Koopa Troopa has been spotted marching towards the castle. Now. As... As far as I know, that foul blaggard Bowser is not among them. If he were, he's not the type to hide himself among his ranks. A trait I admire about the fellow..." Gelior paused to clear his throat. "I expect to intercept the Troopa with my strongest force just as they enter the Castle valley. They won't know what hit them." Gelior pointed to a sparse and low detailed diagram as he spoke, causing Peach to turn cautiously towards Elnar.

"Elnar, I want you to deliver the message to Mario again, just in case. We don't know what Bowser could be trying this time, but just in case." Elnar was shaking, Peach tries smiling reassuringly. "I know you're scared, but in case we're overrun, he's the best hope we have." She spoke softly, low enough that she hoped Gelior's older ears would miss her words as she reassured Elnar.

"That's an interesting plan Captain, but besides what you may think of him, Bowser is more cunning than you give him credit for. We must be vigilant." Peach responded, worried that the Captain would take the Koopa King too lightly. If Bowser were merely a villain of war, he would not have succeeded in kidnapping her this many times. If Bowser were planning something, it would not be something simple. Gelior ran one of his hands over his mustache as he pondered over the princess' words.

"Your highness, if it were to ease your worries, I shall assign four of my strongest men to guard you personally. However, I assure you that this castle will not be breached. In my tenure as Captain of the Guard I've yet to fail once!" Just as the elderly toad's voice run through the spacious room, a laugh fell. It started as a low, unforced sound that rose into a thunderous volume. Before the group could ponder the origin of the laugh, the doors leading upstairs into the tower behind the captain burst open. The clattering of splintered wood echoed for a moment before an enormous shade came over the group of toads surrounding the Captain. Peach, as well as some of the other toads were thrown onto the ground as the source of the shadow came into contact with the ground with a quake that could have fractured the castle in two.

Choking, Peach felt herself choking as the cloud of dust that had emanated from the landing reached her. As she finally brought herself to her feet, she could hear the sounds of the toad guards trying to strike at the Turtoid King. It wasn't any use. All she could hear were screams of toads being flung out of the fray. Even with their combined number they were no match. The clearing cloud of dust only gave way to the horrid visage of Bowser.

"I guess... his record's been broken." The poisonous words were followed by a laugh, a horrid laugh that tore at Peach. It was more a roar than laughter, a triumphant roar as the shelled beast's wake revealed only felled toads.

"King Koopa...Bowser..." Peach took a step backwards as the horned reptile brought its attention back towards her. "Was four times not enough?" The only visible response given was a smile, or as best a smile as Bowser could muster.

"Well... Four times... five times... they're just numbers. ...Not important! But today... today is an important day is it not, my dear Princess? Funny title for a Queen to bear, aren't you the rule-" A deafening roar of pain reverberated off of the walls as Bowser found Peach's parasol lodged in his nostril. Even in his panicked, reflexive struggle to remove the painful object, the fluttering of the pink dress was caught in the corner of his eye as Toadstool made a dash for the exit.

Panting... deep breaths was all Peach could focus on as she made her way down the staircase and through the art gallery. The deeper into the art gallery she ran, the greater the number of toads lay routed on the floor. Paintings of water-bugs, snowmen blurred past as Peach ran, holding her gown to prevent a fall. The foyer was just beyond there and she could flee to Mario's domain. Sounds, some sort of clattering... or clambering sounded on the other side of the door.

"Feisty this time, eh Princess?" Peach couldn't fight the momentum she had built up as it carried her straight into the outstretched scaled palm that had materialized from nothingness. Within an instant Bowser had grasped her by the hair pulling her along with him as he dragged her out into the Foyer. The sounds she'd heard, Peach hadn't had time to sort out what it could have been, but now it was obvious. Almost the entire Koopa Troopa stood inside the Foyer, with many more pouring in through the gates.

"Mario won't let you get away with this." Even Peach felt her threat waver as Bowser pulled her closer into the center of the mass of Goombas and Koopas. She had been right all along, he'd planned the attack!. In the middle of the Koopas lay a painting, bland in any sense but the surface. Unlike a normal painting, ripples emanated from the center in an effect that made it seem like water. "You...you wouldn't..."

"It seems our little Princess is onto our plan!" Bowser's laugh was met with a symphony from the Troopa. "You've made it too easy, little Toadstool. I don't suppose you have any idea as to why these paintings were sealed below the castle? Neither do I! Supposedly they harbor great power in the form of Power Stars... but there's one problem. As long as the ruler is within the castle, the paintings are sealed." Bowser lifted the struggling Princess over the rippling painting. "It would be a shame to kill you... So I learned of a way to keep you fresh enough to be my bride once I rule the kingdom... Have fun, dear Princess!" The horrid laughter began to fade away, along with Bowser's grasp as Peach fell, nothingness surrounding her.


	2. Chapter 2

Within the Walls Chapter 2

Falling... She was definitely falling. While Peach couldn't see anything, whatever Bowser had thrown her into lead down. Was this going to last forever? What did Bowser mean by 'keeping her fresh'? ...What did he mean by the importance of the paintings she had hung onto the walls? Peach's musings on what the Shelled King could have meant ended abruptly.

"Phuee!" Dirt, it was in her mouth, her nostrils as the seemingly endless fall came to an abrupt end. Standing up and finding footing proved to be a difficult task as Peach made an effort to clean the grit out of her eyes while coughing and sputtering. "Where...where am I?" The words came off almost involuntarily as Toadstool's mouth open in a gape at her surroundings. The dirt below her was not the brown color she had thought it to be at first, but a deep red.

In disbelief Peach removed her glove, running the bizarre soil through her fingers. The small mass fell as normal soil did as it crumbled from her hand onto the ground surrounding her. Peach's gape sank into a grimace as she realized the blood red soil had stained her skin, jumping with a shriek as the massive red marks covering her once pink gown became visible.

"P...princess? Is...is that you?" The voice was familiar. Peach turned towards the source, trying to prevent another scream from escaping her throat as she saw her surroundings. There were hundreds, at least from what she could see from her mound, hundreds of mounds of blood red soil that seemed to be falling onto each mound from an unseen source. Bodies lay in many of them, Toads, Koopas... What caught her eye the most, however, was the sky. It was not the blue sky with white clouds that she had seen many mornings from her tower... no, there was nothing that could be considered a cloud at all. Only a strange violet aura covered the landscape with light. A light without a source, yet it covered the sky and shone with the brightness of dusk onto the towering mounds of red soil.

"Princess!" The voice called out again, drawing Toadstool's attention to the mound not far from hers. It took her a moment to recognize him, but the spiral pattern was unmistakable. Fernil was hopping up and down, waving his arms frantically in his attempts to keep her attention.

Mustering some effort, Peach managed to jump to the mound that Fernil stood on, closing her eyes as she landed elbow and knee deep in the putrid looking soil. Arms tugged at her sides as several Toads that were with the blue spiraled Toad.

She fought to maintain her composure as Fernil described the raid of the castle, how Bowser had managed to allow his Troopa entry within far faster than they had anticipated.

"...They also brought with them that strange device that looked like rippling water inside a picture frame." Fernil continued, describing how the bodies of the toads were thrown into the device. Dead, alive, wounded, it didn't matter to them. "I...I was surprised that Bowser threw you in here too! This place doesn't seem to be the best location to house kidnap victims!" Fernil added, looking around at the other Toads who looked just as nervous as the Princess.

"Just...just where are we? What is this terrible place?" Her words were shaking as Peach fought for control over them, reaching for her parasol before remembering what she had done with it in the castle tower. Fernil lifted his hands.

"W..well... we...we don't know. I overheard some of the Koopas cackling something about 'imprisoning them within their own walls' as I was being thrown in." Fernil looked perplexed as he looked up and around, his high pitched voice seemed to crack as he thought more on the matter. "...I can't imagine this kind of place being inside the castle."

"I...is that all of you?" Peach looked over the group of toads that had huddled around the blue capped Fernil. There were some young, old... none of them appeared to be guards from the castle.

"There...there were more. S..some of us wanted to explore beyond the red soil, but.... but they never returned! Th...those who tumbled down to the bottom were also never seen again..." Fernil looked like he was about to cry just as much as Peach was.

"I... I... sent for Mario. He...he'll fix this, won't he?" Peach realized as she spoke, that the words seemed to affect her more than the Toads. Even... even if Mario came and saved her, what would happen if he took too long? What about these Toads? Kneeling down, trying to ignore the soil her knees sank into, Peach put her arms around the shivering Fernil. "There...There... You did a good job." She could only hope patting the Toad's head would help calm him.

"P..princess! Are… are you sure Mario is coming?!" One of the other Toads, one with a spotted green cap, called out. Peach smiled as warmly as she could muster at the small toad.

"He'll come, i'm sure of it." One by one, the Toads began to jump up and down in with joy. Peach held her smile as long as she could, hoping that if anything, she could provide some hope.

A low drawling sound rose from below. It began silent, just outside of Toadstool's awareness, before rising. It was sound she could not quite describe, something between a moan and a cry. As it rose in volume, Peach felt the shaking she had felt earlier grow stronger. It didn't take more than a moment though for her and the toads to realize that it was not just them shaking, everything was. Out in the distance, a few of the toads screamed as they saw one of the towers of blood red soil shake even more heavily before crumbling into the depths below. Another followed not long after, collapse after collapse turned each small mound into nothingness as it descended. The wail only grew louder and louder as more and more mounds began to collapse, the chain of events quickly making their way towards Peach and the others.

"Quick! to the next mound!" One of the Toads cried, just audible above the sound ringing through the air, as the others ran in panic. Peach stood watching the oncoming wave, frozen, trying to think of what she should do. The crimson mountain that she had landed upon began to shake wildly from side to side, the bodies of the various Goombas, Toads, and Koopas sprinkling off of it into the abyss below before the rest of the mountain began to crumble. Was it her fault? Should she have been more vigilant for Bowser? Was she too caught up in the idea of celebrating the castle's completion? As she felt her feet move against the soil beneath her, she could feel a hand grasping hers. Turning her head she saw that it was one of the Toads, the small one who have been cheered up by the thought of Mario coming to save them, pulling her with his own stained hand to follow the others who had jumped onto the next mound.

Hill after hill, each one Peach jumped to she found to be colder and firmer than the previous one. The hue of red became darker as well, almost falling to a complete black as the group raced to escape the thunderous wail that had risen to a near deafening volume. Several Toads had fallen, needing to be helped up by their companions as the sound overcame their senses. The speed of the mound's collapse had almost caught up to them; Peach wondered if this sea of bloody sand would ever end. Her legs hurt, her arms hurt. Each new impact and climb of a mound became more and more taxing. Was Bowser simply intending to have her killed here? Even thinking became difficult, as the sound seemed to consume the very air around them. It drew their attention away from their surroundings, pulling them from their predicament and into a state of stupor.

"Run...Run!" Peach spoke aloud words she herself could not hear as she tried to motivate her body to move further. Up ahead, just barely... She glimpsed something. Whether it was her imagination or reality, it was better than this horrible place. Jumping from mound to mound felt like landing on solid stone, each landing tearing at her dress, leaving holes where her flesh landed against the soil with only the barrier of cloth between them. Her shoes slipped off as she landed on another, Peach cried out in pain as her feet came in contact with the increasingly sharp rock-like surface that had turned from the deep red of the sand mounds into a nearly pitch black solid stone.

It was just there, not too far away anymore. A blur of blue was visible not too far away from her grasp, though the jagged, sharp peaks began to cut into her hands. The horrible sound was fading away as well, growing calmer, and quieter as she found herself running on a solid surface. New found warmth from the solid floor was soothing to her aching feet. Finally, as the sound died in the distance, Peach found herself at a standstill at last.

The violet sky and blue floor only partially illuminated the shining silver tears running down her cheeks as she fell onto her knees. Did she really abandon the Toads?

"W...what did I just do?" The question found itself spoken, as if her mind's voice was speaking from within. How she have, as the ruler of the mushroom kingdom, simply abandoned the Toads as she ran for safety? Her sobs only grew heavier as she remembered the small Toad that she swore Mario would come to save them. Save her now, anyways. Running one of her hands through her hair, she was surprised that the crown was still there. "Like I really deserve it… I should have fallen off into that pit." Her mind didn't seem to plan to give her any time to forget what she had done. A sudden grasp of her shoulder broke the Princess' sobs.

"P...princess? Why are you crying? Shouldn't you get someplace safe? So Mario can save you?" The voice belonged to that Toad. That little toad with a spotted green cap that she'd promised Mario would come save. Smiling, she patted his head as she stood up.

"I guess you're right, are...are the others ok?" Peach asked, wincing slightly as she felt the wounds in her feet and hands ache. The small toad looked down towards the ground, a frown covering his face. It explained everything. She hadn't really thought about it as she ran, the Toads' arms and legs were not nearly as long as a humans, they would have had a harder time maneuvering as she did in their escape. Peach looked at the hand of hers that still bore a glove, stained red just as the rest of her was, before removing it.

"We...we really should get out of here... This place scares me!" The small toad walked closer to Peach, grabbing against the remains of the edge of her dress.

"You're right, lets get out of here..." Peach paused for a moment. "I...i'm sorry... W..what was your name again?" The Toad was silent for a moment, tired from the stress of the escape.

"Meyril."

Weakly smiling, Peach took Meyril by the hand.

"Well, Meyril. I'm sure Mario will come soon! Elnar should have delivered the invitation himself by now."


	3. Chapter 3

Within the Walls Chapter 3

*huff* *huff*

Elnar gasped for air as he ran through the castle corridor. Everyone was gone. Mario had left before him, jumping to action as soon as he had heard that Princess Toadstool was in danger. Toads were slower though, Elnar found himself unable to keep up with the plumber's steady speed. When he'd finally emerged into the castle courtyard through the Warp Pipe, Mario had already vanished within the castle. Now, however... Now it looked completely abandoned, there wasn't a trace that either toads had lived here or that the Koopa Troopa had invaded.

Locked, locked, everything was locked! Every door that he tried on the second floor seemed to be sealed shut. Elnar looked puzzled at the strange star markings covering some of the doors. Just what had happened here? Where was Mario? And, more importantly... Where was the princess?

Cold, bruised feet felt comfortable as they came in contact with a cool, soft surface. Princess Toadstool sat down to rest in the strange grass that had begun to cover the landscape. Brittle to the touch and a unearthly shade of blue, the grass was still surprisingly pleasant against her wounded feet. Meyril followed close behind her, his small legs struggling to keep up with hers.

"P...Princess... Can we take a break? My...my feet hurt." The small Toad's voice called Peach out of the stupor she had fallen into. She hadn't stopped walking because every time she tried to rest, every time she closed her eyes she would see the scared and shaking Toads that she had left behind as she ran for safety. Was this the first time Meyril asked to take a break? She couldn't remember anymore, but either way it would be a good idea to try to take a break again.

Looking around at the strange landscape kept her mind occupied, even the odd green stone-like objects sticking out of the ground didn't bother her nearly as much as she felt they should. They looked sort of like trees, a small stalk-like base with several spherical boulders sitting on top. Each sphere large than the one below. Was it an upside down mountain?

Every so often the top sphere of one of the bizarre objects would explode, shattering before sending even smaller debris flying in a multitude of directions as well as smelling like fire and gunpowder. The smell of explosives. Bright clouds of sparkling blue dust erupted where the pieces landed, before growing into another structure almost identical to the original.

As they had come closer to what was likely to be the center of the monoliths, the violet colored sky providing neither shade nor heat, the more apparent it was that the original ziggurat sat in the center, towering above all others while the others grew smaller in size as they extended from the radius.

"W...what do you think this place is, your Highness?" Meyril spoke quietly, having moved closer to Peach for protection after the noise from the latest explosion vibrated the very ground they sat on. The princess sat silently for a moment, running her hand underneath the strange and brittle grass. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she felt smooth tile below. Stone tile that, upon removal of more grass, resembled the same design which she had seen in the remodeling of the castle.

"I...I don't think we're far away... Whatever Bowser did..." Her voice felt faint as she brushed her fingertips against the smooth, cold stone. She remembered the words Bowser had said about the paintings in her castle possessing power.

"Princess! Look!" Meyril had suddenly jumped up, pointing towards a part of the violet sky that had suddenly begun to change. A swirling vortex formed before turning into a ripple as a chill came over Peach as thoughts of what could be coming became increasingly distressing. "Whatt iss itt?" The Toad's voice began to reverberate as a sudden burst of light came from the ripple, turning into a red and blue streak of light that shot across the sky before disappearing into another ripple.

"C...couldd itt be?" The shaking air vibrated the words that flowed over Peach's lips, pulling her to her feet as she raised her remaining gloved hand towards the sky. Her fist clenched as she saw the swirling vortex. It looked almost identical to what Bowser had thrown her into!

"Wh...who wass thatt?" Meyril's words caused Peach to realize that the green capped Toad had felt it as well, that the flash of light was a person. If...if that person had managed to fly through here and leave, then there had to be a way for her to escape as well!

"W...we cann still gett outt of here Meyril! Maybe...maybe iff we justt followw where we saww itt, we cann gett outt!" Meyril smiled himself as he saw a grin of relief return to the Princess' face. Standing up Peach could still see the ripple in the sky that the light had traveled through, not too far out of reach from the top of the biggest of the towers of spheres. Though the closer the two of them wandered towards the shadow-less ziggurat, the more a problem that should have been obvious to her presented itself.

"How're we gonna gett _aaaaall_ the wayy upp there?" Meyril asked, one of his small hands rubbing his head with as Peach looked with dismay at the massive structure. The smell of gun powder had grown stronger as they approached the monolith; Peach had begun using her glove to cover up the pungent smell as she brought her other hand into contact with the surface of its stalk. Warm, not quite like a living creature, but warm in the same way a sun-baked stone felt. For a moment Peach remembered the days where she would go lay in the sun on a summer's day, right now she just wanted to return to those days… Curling her fingers into her palm, Peach hadn't noticed as a piece of the structure crumbled off under the force of her nails.

"AHH!" Meyril jumped back as the Princess' scream echoed through the air. She had been thrown backwards as another monolith had begun to jut out of the ground where she stood. Her body lay still, panting in shock as she heard her scream's echo bounding off of the other monoliths in a mocking orchestra. "W..waitt... Meyrill..." Toadstool stood up, steadying her shaking legs as she called back the small toad that had run away in the chaos. "Meyrill!! Come back!" Her hand reached towards the green capped Toad. "If...iff we justt use thiss, we mightt be able to gett upp there! We mightt be able to groww somethingg tall enoughh to gett uss to the ripple!" Her words didn't seem to reach him. "Please! Meyril! I don't want to go back alone!" Peach called out, wincing as she felt her wounded feet aching as she ran after him.

If she came back alone, how could she face the other toads? How could she be the ruler of the mushroom kingdom if she'd come back alone without being able to save any of them? How could Meyril have been running so fast? Even with her wounded and cut legs she could see the Toad fading into the distance. He could hardly keep with her up before! What was happening? As her knees sank, the indigo blue grass shattered into plumes around her as she dug her hands below. Once again she could feel the cold stone below the soft grass. The dark red stains on her arms and legs had faded slightly. A cracking sounded above her as she realized that the air was no longer vibrating with the energy it had. Turning her head back Peach saw the ripple slowly dissipate, turning back into the demure violet, sunless sky.

Several tears found themselves falling down her face. Peach was afraid of finding a reflective surface, she hoped there wasn't a way for her to see herself now. Outside of her mind she felt numb, rolling the fragment of the monolith in her hand absent mindedly.

Wandering feet had carried her; she couldn't even tell what direction she had gone since she'd lost Meyril. Monoliths that had once covered the landscape had begun to be rare, the smell of gunpowder and explosives that had permeated the air had faded as well. A fresher aroma had filled the air, something like spring flowers and a cool breeze blew across the landscape. The soft blue grass had all but vanished, remaining in patches surrounded by hot, rough rock.

Jagged rocks, a stark contrast to the soft breeze that would bring life to any other plain, structures with sharp edges pointing in a myriad of directions floated high above the ground. They dwarfed her, despite their distance Peach could not ignore their size. Cool breezes swayed them, like monstrous kites they flew. Their collisions elicited loud bursts, thundering through the air. Every movement made her want to run, each sway felt like it would bring one of the titans of stone down onto her. In each moment she expected to hear the same wail that had nearly destroyed her senses in the columns of red sand.

A clattering of stone broke her thoughts. Not far from her lay a small mountain of jagged rock, no doubt broken from the towers above in a collision. There was no movement as she watched, nothing; Peach didn't want to have a closer look.

"Princess!" The voice stopped Princess Toadstool in her tracks. Another voice followed. "We're over here! We're ok!" Several other voices called out to her from the pile. She gasped, was there... Was there really others left alive? "It's safe here! Come on!"

"Just wait there! I'm coming! Don't move!" The words called out to the mound as Peach ran. She felt tears running down her cheeks, a wave of relief coming over her. Perhaps Meyril was with them, maybe Fernil was there as well! Running closer only brought more and more voices, she could even hear Gelior and Elnar among them.

It didn't come to her, not until she had already climbed inside, that she'd never seen Elnar having been thrown in with them. The air was a little warmer inside. Whispers of wind flowed in and out with a flow that didn't seem irregular. Only when Peach had felt the soft floor did she suspect something to be wrong. The voices calling for her faded into a low growling. A rumbling that her mind simply wouldn't let her remember.

The very ground beneath her seemed to push her forward, further down. Further inside the creature she had entered. A hot humidity, the moistness of the walls. Rumbling sounds were almost terrifying... Peach fell onto the ground as the entire cavern seemed to shake as it if were moving, finding herself covered in a warm, slimy liquid. It was too dark… She couldn't see.

As soon as Peach found her feet against the floor… She ran… running as fast as she could against the force pulling her down, grasping at any growth or ledge she could until she saw light again. The snow she lay in seemed irrelevant, the gray sky almost unnoticeable as the massive structure bended away from her. Pulsating blue wall, with teeth unsupported by either a nose or eyes sank below, falling until it became no longer visible as the Princess edged away in the pitch black snow. Breaths escaped her in tight gasps as she wondered why or how she could have heard the cries of the toads within.

"Princess? A...are you ok?" Mouth widening at the sound of a familiar voice. Meyril's high pitched voice seemed almost unreal as she saw the small Toad bounding, barely visible inside the putrid black snow.

"W...where were you!? Where did you go?!" She found herself screaming as she grabbed Meyril. It was almost too much for her. She was holding the small toad by his cap, eyes wide looking into his.

"I...I was scared, I...I ran and found himself here. I... I thought I'd lost you!" The small Toad's voice cracked, tears forming in its eyes as Peach's expression softened. She held him for a moment before pulling the small Toad into a hug.

A voice called out over the winds, Peach's fading adrenaline bringing back the realities of her surroundings. Biting cold surrounded her as she heard the voice call again.

"I'm over here! Please help!" Her voice rang out weakly into the winds. "D..don't worry... Meyril... We'll be ok... we...we'll be..." Peach's vision began to fade as she consoled the green capped Toad, before her mind faded to black.


	4. Chapter 4

Within The Walls Chapter 4

The door had a large keyhole-shaped emblem on its front, one that Elnar could have sworn he had never seen before. Somehow placed in the dead center of the double doors, the strange marking prevented the door from being opened. Just like the strange doors with shining star emblems, it wouldn't budge no matter how hard Elnar tried.

Access to the tower where Elnar had last seen Princess Toadstool proved to be impossible. The room where she had met with the captain of the guard was blocked, despite his worries; he couldn't even manage to get inside to check up on her. Elnar was completely alone in the strange, deserted castle.

Elnar jumped in surprise when voices echoed from around corners, each one forcing him to fight the urge dash for the nearest alcove and cower. He could have sword he'd even seen one of the many paintings the Princess had hung up during the renovation suddenly vibrate and ripple as if it were made of water.

He couldn't quite decide which was more unsettling. Silence that had engulfed the castle made every footstep of his sound like the blast of an angry bomb-omb, every moment he would expect the Koopa Troopa to jump out at him in an ambush. Or even something worse, a Boo… However, the only time he would hear noises nothing would happen... nothing that he could see at least.

"H..hey!" The sudden voice from behind Elnar caused him to jump out of the alcove, staring in disbelief at the apparition beginning to form. A toad, one of the red dot capped Toads that Elnar had seen many times within the castle. "H..hey you can see me?!" It was only when the apparition had spoken a second time could it get a response from the jaw-dropped Elnar.

"What happened Where is everyone Where is Peach Where is Mario Where is Bowser?!?!" Due to shock and surprise at the presence, Elnar's words came out in a fumble of questions. The toad began to fade in and out, seemingly floating in place before looking around.

"W..well. Bowser and his Troopa is here, inside the castle. So are we... I think. We're somewhere inside the walls. Mario... Mario is somewhere inside the galleries. I... I think he's collecting something called Power Stars..." The ghostly Toad almost faded out of visibility completely as he spoke.

"P..power stars?" Elnar tilted his head, trying to remember if he had heard about anything like that before. The apparition shook its head.

"I didn't know about them either, apparently Bowser wants to use them to conquer the kingdom! Or something... From what I remember, to open the gateways to them, he's thrown Peach and us into here. I...I don't know how I found myself back in the castle, but... as you can see... I'm not all here."

The cabin seemed smaller from a distance, increasing in size until it was almost twice as high as Peach's head. In the light of the now-gray sunless sky Peach was surprised to find that the cabin was a vibrant brown, especially with the pitch black snow covering the roof, falling over the rather dull landscape. Besides the cliff that she had landed on while escaping from whatever had tried to eat her... There were only more hills and peaks covered with the soot-like snow.

The snow itself felt like any other snow she'd seen; the black color she'd expected to seep into her clothes and skin like the blood-red soil in fact didn't, it merely rolled off of her skin like regular water. Down below the cliff they'd walked by, she could almost hear a sound like waves crashing against a cliff.

A small mound of black snow covered Meyril's cap as well as the small toad hopped along to keep up with the princess' determined steps. Every few steps he was forces to shake it off. She only paused in the frigid gusts long enough to take a look back at the toad, determined not to lose him again.

Peach's felt the cabin's walls before she saw that there was a cabin here; a cabin meant that there had to be someone living wherever this was. Meyril crashed into her leg, not having seen that the princess had stopped moving. She was grateful that the green capped Toad had managed to keep her awake, especially with how close she'd come to losing consciousness time and time again. The two circled around the frame of the building until she'd found the doorway, Peach noticed small claw marks cut into its surface as her hands ran over them. Some were small; others seemed to grow significantly bigger. She knocked frantically at the door, not wanting to discover what here could have cut the gashes that covered the sides of the cabin.

"Please let me in! Let us in!" Peach called out as she felt another chilling gust of wind cause her body to shake involuntarily. Perhaps it was her imagination that she was hearing more than just the roaring of winds up here, every step they'd made she could hear what was like a raspy pant, a low chattering just masked by the wind's howl. What if it wasn't? What if whatever had done this to the cabin was just beyond visibility, just out of her visual grasp? Hearing her heart's frantic race, Peach knocked heavily against the door again. "Please! Is anyone in there?!" Pleading against the wooden surface as it seemed that the clawed scratches grew in size, elongating towards Toadstool with a slight creak.

A crack of light. Yellow light, light that she was familiar with, as the door began to swing open.

"Come inside… Quickly." She didn't care who the rough, weary sounding voice belonged to before throwing herself within the cabin's safe walls. The difference was light night and day. A warm yellow light emitted from candles placed in the corners of the room, filling the room with life that the harsh black soot-like snow outside seemed to snuff out. It took a few moments for Peach to remember where she was, that someone had let her inside their cabin.

"I...I'm sorry to intrude." She bowed to the man, knowing that her tattered pink gown was nothing presentable given the circumstance of her arrival. "...I'm Princess Toadstool, of the Mushroom Kingdom. I...I don't know where I am. Someone threw me inside a strange black frame and then...then I found myself here… and horrible things started to happen... my friends… they're…" The man pulled back his hood, revealing an unkempt mane of gray hair that matched his beard's length. Peach was mildly surprised; she'd never seen someone with a beard that reached their knees before. His clothes were considerably more plain than his appearance, a gray jacket with visible wool around the edges. Dull, but in this case Peach would have been more than happy to be in his than hers.

"...Princess... Toadstool?... Mushroom... Kingdom?..." The man didn't seem to respond to her physical presence, instead walked over to a large chair sitting in the center of the room before sitting down. Repeating the key points of her speech slowly to himself pausing for a drawn out breath in between as he walked.

Sparsely decorated would have been an understatement, every space that one would fill with a rug or a painting was laid bare. It even lacked windows... What looked to be an incomplete fireplace jutted out of a section of wall.

"You don't know of them?! Oh my... I..." A sense of dread fell over Peach, if he didn't know what the Mushroom Kingdom was... then there was no hope of getting back...

"It... It is ...something I've ...not heard of for many a... a year. " The drawn out pauses pulled at the Princess. "You're the.... first person I've... seen here... in a long... time. Lucky you didn't l...land in the Obsidian Ocean..." His words fell, causing a chill to run down Peach's back.

"The... The 'Obsidian Ocean'? Wait. There's... there's too much going on here. Why were there mounds of red sand? Why were there monoliths and floating structures? Why did a cave try to EAT ME?!" The drawn out words began to pull at her, were there really no other people here besides this man?

"A...ah... So... You... You arrived in the stomach... and are still... alive? ... This place… must... really like how you taste... By the way... name's Demwi" The old man's face turned to a grin as he stood up, walking closer to Peach. Grey eyes peered into her own for a moment, before the man wandered into another room.

Inhaling...exhaling... a repetition of movements in the diaphragm. Peach stood breathing as she looked around to spot Meyril sitting on one of the other chairs strewn around the cabin. A wooden table surrounded by chairs stood near what Peach thought was the kitchen, looking like it could begin to wobble and collapse at the drop of a pin. A multitude of plates were set, like one would set for a feast. It reminded her of the party she was planning for Mario and Luigi.

"If...if he hadn't seen people for such a long time... W...why is there a whole table set?" Her mind came through her voice once again. It hadn't occurred to her until now. Upon hearing his returning footsteps Peach turned away towards the hallway, wondering if she was simply imagining a soft sound rapping against wood.

"Ah... here you go. These should be... better for traveling through... through here." The old man, Demwi stood under the door's arch holding a set of woolen clothes. She really wasn't in a position to refuse or deny the gift. As Peach replaced her tattered pink gown she'd wondered how the gray haired man had clothes that fit this well. A little loose, but the white and brown suit fit her well enough... if it weren't anywhere near her fashion.

"Miss...Toadstool... You should not go back the way you came... It is not a way out." Demwi's words preempted her decision, Peach had been thinking on trying to find her way back to where she had seen the swirling ripple in the sky, with Meyril in tow she might have a shot at another opening for their escape. However, as Demwi spoke a scratching that Peach had heard somewhere in the back of her mind was becoming more audible, growing into a scraping sound as she remembered the marks covering the exterior of the cabin.

"W...what is that noise?" Peach asked, moving away from a now vibrating wooden wall. It was like things were tearing at the walls, things stronger and bigger than what she had imagined had been there. Was it a trick of the light? Were the marks deeper and bigger than she'd thought? The sounds of splinters cracking as they fell off the wall from the force of whatever was outside burst through the relative quiet of the cabin, the man's labored breath became louder and more frequent.

A rasp laden sound, like… like an animal breathing with a dry mouth could be heard as more and more marks were visible on the inside of the cabin, growing in size. Peach's chest felt like a piston was pounding within. She had to run. There had to be a way out of here.

"No… Hurry… we must go… This way... Follow me..." Even though the old man's words echoed the urgency of the situation, his tone didn't change as he grabbed her arm. Demwi led the Princess down what seemed to be a maze of passages inside the cabin; Peach turned her head back every now and then to make sure Meyril followed. The small toad had been particularly quiet since she'd found him.

What fortune that she now had the warm clothes now, as she could feel a billowing chill growing in the air from the room the old man had been leading her too. Ice that was clear, clear and white like the snow outside should have been covered the floor and ceiling. The circular room focused in what looked to be a small metal disk, almost invisible until Demwi had walked onto it before motioning to her. A lift… one that the odd man activated with a switch before stepping onto the platform himself.

Shaking a moment before descending, Peach had ridden strange contraptions before in her escapes from Bowser's castles with Mario, but the confined space as the room disappeared into a cylindrical tube caused an uneasy feeling. A tug at her dress brought her attention to the silent Meyril, who shivered as the tube gave way to a large space. Stone wall... Tiled stone wall surrounded everything, looking just like what she had seen in the field of brittle indigo grass.

"What...why... why is there tile here? It... It almost looks like this place was constructed..." Peach turned her head towards the old man standing next to her, who himself was silent in response. "Do you know anything about this place? You've been here for many years." It would make sense, Peach thought, if he'd lived here that long, he'd have to know something.

"....The less you know of this place, the better off you are." Peach stepped back, nearly losing her balance on the solitary metal platform as it continued its rate of descent. Demwi's voice wasn't the tired, almost cold tone it had when he last spoke. Without pauses between words, it felt more like a warning. Even when the platform stopped, it felt as if her heart was clasped by something. Something in the words she had missed in her exhaustion came back to her.

'You arrived in the stomach' ... 'This place must really like how you taste.' ...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

He'd first noticed it out of the corner of his eye. If Elnar hadn't been walking through the lower art gallery he might have missed the sudden movement on the surface of the painting. The effect was somewhat akin to that of a ripple in a pond, a sudden radiance of motion on what was supposed to be an inanimate object. Footfalls were slow as Elnar's curiosity overcame him, pulling him to investigate the rather unsettling painting of a ghastly face carved into a column of flame. As another ripple emanated from the center of the visage it seemed almost as if the expression changed to one of a smile.

A wave formed along its surface, with a wake following as Elnar moved his hand over the surface. It was both amazing, and at the same time frightening. A painting wasn't supposed to do this. At least, Elnar had never heard of paintings one could sink his hand inside.

"Don't do it." A voice, squeaking with a pitch higher than any Toad he'd heard sounded behind Elnar. "Don't touch it! You don't want to die, do you?" The urgency of the voice prompted Elnar to quickly tug away with a shriek, with strange horizontal splash of red and black. Colors from the painting splashing horizontally from its surface. The strange looking creature- a rabbit colored in what seemed to be golden fur- hopped in place not far away from him, its eyes mildly unfocused as it seemed to be observing him.

"W...what do you mean 'die'?" Elnar asked, his voice shaking mildly as the rabbit hopped closer. Water that had flooded the lower level seemed to drip off of his fur as if it simply rejected the element.

"A red-capped man entered... I didn't have a chance to warn him." Eyes that were unfocused shifted, not in Elnar's direction but into others. Each individual lens glaring in a different direction, as if watching for something. "It's not just a gate."

"B..but what do you mean die?... W..wait... What about a gate?" Elnar felt a chill down his back as the rabbit mentioned it not being 'just a gate,' from what he knew Mario had entered several of such gates and came out unscathed.

"They are not gates! Not gates! I don't know who opened them, but it was a mistake! Bad things! Bad things are between here and the seals! I tried to warn the fat man, but all he did was take my vessel! You buddy, you'll never truly get out without one! Stay away from the seals!" Before Elnar could ask for clarification of the golden creature's rambling words it had begun to hop around madly through the water, disappearing beyond a corner.

Footsteps crunching against the gravel on the floor as they entered the main cavern, winds almost as frigid as the blizzard outside had subsided. Surprisingly it was brighter here, without the pitch black snow even this cavern seemed like a bright place. It was almost as bright as daybreak. The platform they had used to descend with had long since faded from view as Peach followed the old man. In the still dim lighting she could hardly see where he had gone without overgrowing gray hair shining brightly, reflecting even the dim lighting.

Shivers crept up her spine as she remembered the clawing at the cabin walls. Marks outside... Whatever caused them was something she truly hoped to never meet. What would have happened if they'd not found the cabin? Whatever was out there in the pitch snow would have gotten to them. If she hadn't heard Demwi's voice, if Meyril hadn't kept her awake...

The Princess shook her head, reminding herself that it wasn't the worst thing that happened to her here. Her aching feet and hands reminded her of the columns of blood red soil, the sound echoing around her and the toads that she had simply left there. Meyril was here though. Maybe the others made it as well? At least the new clothes that Demwi had generously provided were comfortable, if a bit large. The now-dirty white boots were comfortable at least, making walking on her injured feet less of a harrowing ordeal. The small toad was as silent as ever, simply following closely behind Peach. Was he shy, or wary of the old man? Did she really have a reason to trust him? The Princess really had no way of knowing where he was leading her... but he did know what was this place was like, better than her or Meyril anyways.

"Wait...what did you mean about t..the towers of red sand being th...the 'stomach'?" The description still held within Peach's mind. Demwi would describe places in wherever this place was in terms of organs. Except the Obsidian Ocean... no matter how much she'd ask, he'd respond with the same words. 'The less you know about this place, the better off you are.' She'd shiver each time the words replayed.

The walls of the cavern were warm to the touch, a surprise given the chilling gusts of wind and somewhat giving form to the old man's words. Had he explored this place entirely? It seemed plausible, with how well he seemed acquainted. Peach gasped at a particularly loud wisp of wind flowing through the cavern, its reverberations off the pillars and walls sounding somewhat like a groan. Cold sweat began to fall down her back, shivers forming in her legs. Only the familiar sounds of the crunching of her shoes pressing against the gravel-like road, it was what reminded her that the ground was still dirt.

"You'd have.... have to understand miss... Toadstool, was it? ...You can't really... believe what you see... in this place... it shows… what you want to see… usually…" The drawn out words echoed throughout the cavern, bouncing off the large pillars of stone seemingly glittering with gemstones. Was there a light source in here? Peach had looked for a light source before, but hadn't been able to find one... Perhaps the multitude of gemstones themselves gave off a light? It fit with the rest of this place... the sunless sky that bathed the landscape with light, be it violet or gray... Did Demwi mean that things here were an illusion? ... That couldn't be right, the hot fiery pain enveloping her body with every step on her cut and bruised legs felt far too real. All of it was far too real.

She hadn't noticed them when they had first entered... As they climbed higher up the sides of the cavern bright lights began to rain over Peach and Demwi. This was the source of the light in the cavern? The gemstone-littered pillars that she had seen below were not pillars at all, but merely stalks of titanic mushrooms. Crowns of each cap glowing a different color, slowly turning towards the climbing figures. The resultant summation bathed Peach and Demwi in a myriad of colors. Were they... looking at them? It looked nothing like mushrooms she had seen, they looked as if they were made of stone yet... Each seemed to move, breath with life. Peach couldn't remember even hearing about such mushrooms in the kingdom. The irony wasn't lost on her, but there wasn't really any reason to laugh.

"C...can't we take a break?" There was only so far a survival instinct could take someone, after all, the last time she had rested was back in the fields of indigo grass. She was nearly eaten not long after, then flung into the snow. He had stopped already, even before her words were finished. Was this where he was intending to take her? "Where are you taking me anyway?" Taking a seat against a soft part of the soil now that Demwi had stopped, she found a moment to ask him as Meyril found a seat next to her.

"Far...far away. Miss Toadstool... The cabin is...is not safe anymore." Demwi simply stood there, not moving as he spoke. Peach had expected him to at least sit down, but instead he seemed fixated on the swaying mushroom caps. She herself found her eyes trapped in their sway, her tired limbs taking over her thoughts as she sank onto the boulder behind her. Sleep was inevitable, Peach couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

Something, something moving below her. It was entangling her with black vines. A sound of hissing, not like an animal... more like the sound of two objects rubbing against each other. Legs immobile, arms helpless... Falling from the sky, dust settling on her body... red dust falling continuously. Deep, bloody red.

Peach began to writhe, swaying herself from side to side in order to prevent the red soil from remaining on her body. No use... As she managed to remove the dust covering her, more fell from the sky until that which was below her was felt pressing against her side. A veil of whispers formed around her, followed by a scream off in the distance.

Was it one of her Toads? No... it sounded too familiar, a feminine voice. Moving her head with effort... There were other figures, others bound arm and leg by some sort of black mass. Every figure she could see bore a flutter of a pink dress, sticking out of a mound of dark red stone... a gloved hand sticking out of another side holding a golden crown. Were they all her? A sense of terror filled her as more sand covered her body. Her body weighed down by the force, her hair pulled and tugged downwards... She was screaming now... The soil was overcoming the edges of her face, covering her ears.... her nostrils... her mouth.... her eyes.

Peach awoke with a gasp. Turning around rapidly she was reminded of where she was... She was still in the cave. Demwi still stood where he was standing, watching the swaying of the colossal mushrooms. How long had she been asleep? It couldn't have been long with the old man still standing there.

"How long have I been asleep?" She rubbed her eyes as she found her feet. The gray-haired man was silent a moment before turning around.

"Six... Seven hours..." Peach's hand instinctively covered her mouth as it hung open. Had...had Demwi simply stood there for seven hours?! Maybe he was simply confused. Looking around, Peach realized that something was missing.

"Wait... Where's Meyril?!" The panicked words echoed off the walls and caused the mushrooms to shake momentarily, though they didn't seem to have any real response in the old man. "The small mushroom-like person with me. The Toad. Did you see if he had gone anywhere?" Nothing... Demwi only looked at her with a confused expression. "You can't be serious..." Peach whispered to herself as she sat down on the boulder.

Why was she following this madman? It was obvious he had little to no idea what he was doing, even if he saved her life. What if he scared Meyril away while she had been asleep? If... If that were the case, then Meyril would've ran ahead, wouldn't he? The only path she could see led further up.

Demwi looked confused as the young woman who called herself a Princess ran up the pathway, raving about something called Meyril. Hadn't she heard his warnings about the world above? Turning towards the mushrooms again he spotted the red and blue light flashing through the roof. If... if the gates had been opened again, then this place would have been a likely place to escape.

Coughing softly to himself, Demwi scratched at the back of his hair before turning back down the pathway. Would she be consumed like everyone else? He certainly hoped not, but there was little he could do about it now. As he faded from view, the mushrooms returned to their upright position. Perhaps there was still a chance?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The rampant hopping of the strange rabbit covered with fur that shined like gold was the only way Elnar had of following the creature as it disappeared into an unlit lower section of the castle. What a strange creature, he thought, to produce such a squeaking sound with its very movement. It wasn't that Elnar wasn't grateful, as the echoing sounds of the wall allowed him to have a decent idea of where to go. He was dripping wet by now, drops of water fell from the ceiling in quick intervals. Were they below the moat? Stone tiled walls that had long since given way to uneven edges of stone, varying from rough to smooth as the toad cursed his own curiosity. Sulfur… The tunnel smelled like rotten eggs, forcing him to cover his nose further inside.

"Stupid rabbit... Where are you?" Elnar mumbled under his breath as he grew exasperated from his search, the rabbit's squeaking had died down in the distance considerably. Humid air made his cap feel soggy and cold... There wasn't much more of the constant sound of dripping water that he could take, drilling into his ears. What kept him going was the realization that if he'd lose the rabbit now, it wasn't likely that he'd find the way back out. Just as he began to curse the rabbit again, a light shone onto the smooth and rounded wall not too far in the distance. Tuning the corner the toad spotted a light coming from a door opened just a crack. Energy filled his limbs as he made a dash to get to the other side, flooding the unlit cavern with light as he entered.

"Meyril! Where are you?!" Peach called out, trying to keep her distance from the fetid green marshes, bursting bubbles unleashed foul odors into the air. Last time she'd stepped near one, the heat... the smell of rot and things she couldn't even identify would overcome her nostrils. Sand underneath her feet was almost as green, reeking with just a smaller amount of funk. Where had that Toad gone?! The sky burned her, heat from a strange blue light falling from the sky fell on her with a fury like the sun in a scorching desert. Even though her clothes, which had most definitely been intended for use in colder regions, were almost soaked in sweat... She refused to remove them, after all... In the random and chaotic nature of this place she could end up back on the frigid mountain of pitch black snow again or worse...

Having had time to look around the wastes for several hours... Princess Toadstool could definitely see a theme to this place. Though everything seemed unshapely and random; there seemed to always be motif… A flat plain-like surface with large towering structures jutting upwards... Where she had landed had the dark red sand mounds, followed by giant monoliths resembling spheres piled atop one another... Those had then given way to those titanic floating rocks... In the snow she couldn't see far enough around her to spot any significant structures, but the cavern had the glowing mushrooms that lit their way.

Here... here they looked like grotesque withing figures of bubbles, made out of a glowing green stone that matched the disgusting hue of the pools that they inhabited. In fact, each of the towers bubbled with... something... something like an ooze that flowed out of them and surrounded them to form the putrid reservoirs. She could wretch at the mere sight of them, let alone the smell.

Meyril... He wasn't anywhere to be found. Neither could she find the way back to the cavern she had run out of after Demwi simply stood there. What if she was in danger within the cabin because of that old man? The creatures hadn't attacked her until she had entered the cabin, and Meyril had fallen silent when Demwi was there. Now he was gone.

"Meyril! Come back! It's ok now! Everything's fine! I'm ove-" Peach's call was interrupted by a screech that nearly shook her off of her feet. Pulling herself up quickly- by now Peach had realized how dangerous it was to simply sit still in this place- before moving quickly to a spot below a boulder seeped halfway under the sand. Whatever had made the noise didn't seem to be the same thing as what she heard at the pillars of red soil... but Peach wasn't very keen on discovering what it really was.

Running towards the rock, it took the princess some time to notice the massive shadow overtaking her own for as she kept her eyes forward. Breathing in and out with forced gasps for air as strong gusts of wind began to claw at her back, Peach screamed as she felt a cutting at the back of her clothes.

"Princess! Get down!" The shock of hearing a familiar voice almost prevented Peach from following Meyril's advice and ducking into the alcove he hid inside. She was swimming in sweat, the combined effort of running and the heat was almost too much for her. Drawing a hand over her shoulder, she could feel the sting as the wound met the sweat on her palm.

"That… was a mistake." Peach winced at the pain before looking up out of the alcove, a massive shade covered over the area surrounding the boulder, the ground itself still rumbling from a piercing metallic noise. A plume of what looked like feathers passed at the end of the shade, but looking up towards the sky Peach could see nothing. Was…was it some sort of bird?! Blue light again bathed the ground around them.

"Meyril! What happened?! Why did you run away?!" Peach looked at the small Toad, her lips clasped together in determination before she grabbed him by the sides of his mushroom cap.

"I...I was scared! When you fell asleep that old man... Demwi began talking to the mushrooms! He was saying bad things about me, that I was… bad…" Meyril's shaking words caused Peach to wonder why the small toad hadn't bothered to wake her up if the old man was such a danger to them. …and if Demwi had noticed that Meyril was there, why did he not react when he'd gone missing? Was he quiet the whole time because he was scared? "I ran away without telling you... I'm sorry..." The small toad looked down, beginning to sniffle.

"D..do you know how worried I've been!?" Peach shook the toad back and forth for a moment, almost unable to stop herself from crying. A raspy gasp was all that made it out of her lips before she set him down, as his sniffles began to rise to cries. "Do... do you know what that was? What was chasing me? I think I'd have noticed something like that following me!" Something with a shadow that size wasn't going to hide, yet... Yet Peach had missed it. If it had remained silent in its attack...

"I...I didn't see it either... *hic* It... I was chased here by the shadow." Meyril sniffled between his phrases, trying to calm himself down. "I think we can't see it. *hic* Maybe it's some kind of bird?" Peach wiped her head with one of her sleeves as she listened to Meyril's story; by now she knew her hair was lodged against her back in a tangled, oily mess. Looking out again Peach could see the massive length of the shade circling not more than a few yards from where they hid, there plumes of feathers from where one would see wings on a bird. Still there was nothing visible in the sky, even directly above the shadow.

The fact that it wouldn't leave meant that it knew that Peach and Meyril were hiding there, Peach was barely able to withstand being in such close proximity with the sand that seemed to ooze beneath her feet. Each movement to adjust her position only released more odors, each one seeming to confer a different form of disgust. Feeling an uneasy force in her stomach Peach recognized that staying here was not going to be possible, the two of them had to find some way to get past whatever was causing the shadow in the sky.

"I think it might be something like that." Peach responded quietly, trying to get a good look around the rock they hid under. There had to be some way to escape. "Wait... let me try something." The words were more spoken to herself than to Meyril as Peach removed one of the heavy gloves finger by finger. With a slight grunt, Peach flung it out of the alcove, the glove landing in the open light not far away from them.

Both of them were silent for a moment, watching the shadow to see if it would react to the sudden movement in the light. Another screech rocked through the ground, one that would've once again thrown Peach onto the ground had she not been already holding onto the boulder. The avian shade made a wide arc before turning back towards the boulder and the glove.

"Princess! Something's wrong! The ground is shaking!" The high pitched voice of the toad broke the concentration Peach had been holding onto, she'd been hoping to at least catch a glimpse of whatever was causing the shade. Slightly at first, the green soil beneath them had begun to shake before a sudden cracking noise almost threw both of them onto their faces. Only moments before the ground burst open below them did Peach notice the cracks forming in the ground, crevices not streamed towards them, circling from all directions until converging below the glove. "Run!" However, the warning came too late.

For an instant Peach felt weightless. In the moment the ground gave way and a large, vine covered creature burst out of the ground it felt as if her body was being torn between forces, her insides holding tightly together as she began to fall into the blackish-blue mass below. It was just like before, a maw jutting out of the mass, like when she'd nearly been eaten on the mountain… Bellowing that seemed to come from both the creature and the vines covering its body wasn't that important, nor was the fact that the vines seemed to tear inside a large bird. They dug into its eyes, into its wings... She felt numb. If she had time, she would've vomited. Even as she landed on a piece of ground that was still only sinking it only took a moment for her to see a thick black liquid-like substance working its way up, glowing red vines massing around the fraction of land.

Peach climbed, desperately clinging both her free and gloved hands onto the rancid dirt ledge that was her only safety. Climbing as fast as she could from the black and red mass, the princess could see out of the corner of her eye that it seemed to elongate pulsating scarlet tendrils to form vines… It was as if it was reaching, grabbing the surroundings on its own accord as it reached up to get at the princess' feet. She didn't have the energy for a scream, nor the focus really. As she rolled over the top, down the small hill that was formed from the eruption she could see the vines tugging down at the unfortunate creature that they had caught, dragging it down while simultaneously spilling out over the edge. Meyril lay unconscious by the edge.

The pungent smell was everywhere. It seemed to even soak through her clothes as she ran along the edge of the putrid marsh. Barely holding on to the small toad's unconscious body over her shoulder Peach couldn't find the will to stop her running legs as the vision of blackness below filled her mind. Was what she dreamed of, was it the obsidian ocean that Demwi had spoken of? The shadow of the bird they'd seen... was it from below the soil?! She couldn't even hear herself panting. Everything was a blur. It was only when the smell had begun to fade, and the numerous stank pools of green bile began to grow smaller that she permitted herself a look back.

Something was definitely there. A mass of black, sludge like in appearance, had risen out of the broken mound. Unlike the rest, it hadn't spilled over the sides, instead elongated on a stalk before setting into a motion that could be best described as swaying. Peach couldn't shake the feeling, a feeling like that whatever it was... That it knew she was there. Was this what Demwi had described as having 'tasted her'? Was it responsible for what was happening to her now? Red lines, like veins glowed with a pulse not far underneath its surface.

"Leave me alone! I've done nothing to you! I...I just want to find my other friends and go home!" She screamed at it, realizing a moment after that she was only arguing with a mass... A mass of something… something that had eaten that bird. Looking at it made her sick to her stomach. After a moment, the mass seemed to melt back into the hole that it had erupted from.

"Meyril..." Peach had set the toad down onto the ground once she could no longer see the spot where the black mass had erupted from. "Are you ok?... Speak to me..." The small toad moved slightly, raising its hand before letting it drop again.

A cold sweat fell down Peach's body as she waited for several minutes, hoping that the small form would move. However, the body seemed to be come less and less life-like by the second.

Toadstool barely withheld a scream as she felt a hand grasp onto her shoulder. Swinging around after grabbing a loose stone her arm was caught by another hand. A rasp-laden voice spoke into her ear as she tried to writhe free, dropping the stone in the process.

"Quickly. Before it wakes up." Only words spoken before Peach was pulled further and further away from Meyril.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Peach was looking down at her two feet as they took slow deliberate steps. Not too far ahead of her, Demwi was keeping a faster pace than she could remember from their time in the cavern. Meyril... Her chest felt like a vice was inside, crushing everything within. The small toad had melted away right in front of her eyes. Right after that thing had burst out of the ground… She couldn't even tell whether to cry or scream at this point.

"He wasn't real." The old man repeated the words again with without pauses for breath, something that had shocked Peach when he had pulled her away from Meyril's body. Words still stung, after all... she had held the little guy more than once, spoken to him!

"How do you know that? You didn't even acknowledge him at all!... You didn't care when he ran away." Peach's voice was barely audible. The stench from the putrid green marshes around them wasn't that much of a concern anymore. Pain pulsated inside her as she remembered the toad's high pitched voice, the green cap... When she'd discovered that he had survived after she had fled,

"Princess. If I would have acknowledged its presence, its form would likely have changed into something …I don't know why it had taken that form, this place plays tricks of that sort... Maybe it thought you wouldn't question its presence." Demwi's words were drawn out and flat, like he was glad to be rid of the creature.

Wouldn't question its presence? Playing tricks? If the old man were correct, why had she been so willing to accept such a creature? To protect it? Even though it prevented her escape, not once, but twice according to Demwi.

"You… you keep talking about it as a 'thing'. …I felt him, with my own two hands. I heard him cry. How could you call him a creature?! Peach's hands were clenched into fists at her sides as she yelled at Demwi in disbelief. "If Meyril was just...just a creature created by this place, then why did he help me? Everything else has been quite content with trying to kill me!" She could still visualize the toad's green spotted cap, he'd saved her within the pitch black snow and from the bird-shade in the marsh... Demwi's footsteps stopped outside of the mouth of a small cave. The familiar pungent scent of mushrooms filled her nostrils. Just how well _did_ Demwi know this place?

"That... I don't know, as for why I call it a creature? Well... What stopped you from escaping the first time?" It hit her, the towering ziggurat, spheres mounted over each other reaching towards the sky that swirled with color as a bright light passed through the realm… Though she'd tried hard in her mind to forget her words, the words she had screamed then… while running after Meyril. Memories have a habit of being kept well the harder one attempts to forget them. 'I don't want to go back alone!'... Words that ran down Peach's body like a pale of frigid, ice cold water. Was Meyril trying to prevent her from escaping when he ran away? Or… was she afraid of being the only one saved? The promise, her own words to those toads that were huddled around her that Mario would come and save all of them. Even though she knew that most likely it would be her that the plumber would come after. If he even knew where she was. Even if she'd escape, it was unlikely that anyone would believe her about this terrible place. Was Meyril trying to stop her from coming back because… because of that? Peach found her hands were shaking. It was fear? She was afraid of coming back as the only survivor, of being the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom upon losing not only her castle, but all of her friends.

"Are... are they all dead? Is everyone who I left behind... In the place of blood red soil... dead?" The words felt like iron, each pouring out of her trembling lips with a tremendous weight that fell into her chest with a crushing sting.. Several time before she had thought on it, the same conclusion had been reached... She felt cold, even in the sweltering heat, her body felt as cold as if she'd been stuck in the pitch black snow.

"I'd say... it's more of a miracle that you are still alive. Besides myself, I haven't seen anyone last as long as you in here. Especially with how much interest whatever dwells within this place had shown in you." The old man turned around towards the cavern and continued his trek as Peach thought on his words.

"Wait! Tell me, how did you end up here? Why does this place look so… unnatural? You keep referring to it as some sort of… creature. Are these really tiles from the castle?" Peach ran to catch up with Demwi, a surprisingly fast individual when he wasn't feigning senility. The heels of her boots again clicked against a shaped tile lying partially unearthed beneath the soil.

"That... My Princess... is a long story. Come back to the hut, you must be starving."

Dust hung in the stale air, scents of lead and paint were just a few of the things indicating that it was an old room, older than any Elnar had seen in the castle. The tunnel itself looked like it hadn't been used in decades at the least. This room, covered in a thick blanket of dust and cobwebs, was out of use for ages. Old books lay in piles that rose almost three times as high as the curious toad. Lighting from unseen sources illuminated the odd office-like chamber, but he couldn't quite tell where it was coming from. A desk was barely visible behind columbs of books, only visible due to the yellow streams of light that poured out of crevices. Searching around the towers, behind objects that would have concealed the source Elnar found nothing but old stone walls, dilapidated with time.

Where was that rabbit? The original purpose of his excursion into this place hit the toad, Elnar still wanted to know what the rabbit meant by referring to the paintings as seals. Upon taking a good look throughout, the Elnar found the room had no other opening besides that which he had entered... At least none the toad could find without knocking stuff over. Elnar was surprised that the bookshelves and desks in the room remained standing; since creaks and moans erupted from the wooden structures simply from his footsteps on the weakly carpeted wooden floor. Cool humidity of the tunnel that leaked water from the moat had given way to a stuffy humidity that was as stale as the room itself. Along with the smell of lead and paint was a strange smell that Elnar couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Hey..hey rabbit! Where are you? I know you're in her-AHH" The still air came to life as books tumbled over onto the ground nearly burying Elnar. A flash of light blinded the toad for a moment as the golden-furred rabbit furiously hopped out of the room, using its weight to force the door open with a loud bang. Several more books fell off of the shelves as the frenzied hare bounded down the tunnel out of sight. "What....what was that?!" Elnar could have sworn that he saw the rabbit holding onto a shining gold object, nearly as bright as the sun as it bounded down the darkening tunnel.

It took Elnar a few tries to shake the wreckage off of himself, shock came over the small toad's face as canvasses were strewn over the floor, along with buckets of what looked like dried out paint that were hidden behind the mountain of books. Frames piled on top of each other underneath the desk looked like they had once held paintings of their own. Whoever had last used the room last had done a number at hiding them from view. Elnar carefully climbed over the remains of the fallen piles of books to get a better look, brushing away cobwebs and dust covering the dilapidated frames. It was hard to see with age, but the frames seemed to have burn marks on them, as if the image that they once held was removed by flame… The design present on them reminded him of those that now hung inside the castle. Near the frames lay another pile of books, the binding different than those in the piles behind him. Perhaps the books held some answer as to what this room was for?

Elnar's curiosity got the better of him as he sifted through the pile of books, dismayed as some of them simply crumbled in his grasp before he could even read their titles. Most of them were simply notes, written in such a fine pen that was eroded by time. He could hardly see what was written, and what he could was hard to understand at the best. Others, however seemed to be diaries... Diaries ordered by dates, an older numbering system which he'd only learned about through varioust studies. A great deal of the entries were among those destroyed by time, though carefully the toad managed to pry some of the surviving volumes open.

"Warp pipes, gateways within our kingdom that we've been using since written history began… How do they work? What are they for? Questions I've been asking myself for years. I intend to find a way to use their technology to make new gateways. Unfortunately, I've come across some problems trying to disseminate the actual _cause_ of the teleportation within the pipes. Attempts to remove samples from inside the pipes has almost invariable led to teleportation to the pipe's destination. Thus far King Portabel has not given me permission to actually take apart one of the pipes. . --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 22, Day 103"

"... I've managed to find it! After numerous failures, and the loss of several hundred coins worth of equipment, I've convinced the king to allow me to take apart a warp pipe in the underground. It wasn't an easy sell, coercion of this nature shouldn't be exercised lightly. Upon dissection I've found the material to be strangely almost… organic. Not that I would say that it is _living_, but it is most definitely not metal. Attempting to make use of this material has significantly held me back however. I've some ideas for applications, but with my previous errors I'm hesitant to waste resources. . --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 23, Day 155"

"… It was amazing… I'd never expected such a reaction from the material solely through interaction with water. The result being a wavelike wall that now sits across from me in the room, like horizontal water. After throwing some rocks within and sticking my head inside I've concluded that it leads to a strange watery cave-like place, something I've not heard of in the Mushroom Kingdom. One of my assistants, Woktel, has suggested that I try mixing it with other materials. . --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 23, Day 200"

"… This is what we've been searching for! I've managed to find a way to utilize their properties to make new gates. Warp pipes seem to have been made with their goal in mind already, so the only thing needed to be supplied was a goal. Gates that would allow our kingdom to amass resources far beyond our natural barriers. Concentratingthe material necessary into paint. Whoever had constructed warp pipes had created them to travel between places in the world that had already been explored, but with this!... With this we can create doors to any place we wish! Simply provide a goal… a painting… As soon as... As soon as the paintings I've commissioned are complete... Then we can begin exploration. For now, I'm going to rest. This excitement is almost too much for me. --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 23, Day 244"

"...The paintings are complete! I've managed to have thirty five made in total, Petrila Greenhorne was a perfect choice of artist. Though I've had to seek the permission of King Portabel Toadstool, again, I've amassed a small group of explorers willing to travel across the threshold. I must say that the king's generosity at sparing me a few men while the new castle is being constructed. --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 25, Day 112"

Elnar gasped. Were the paintings that were hung up in the art galleries... the same ones these guys planned to use?

"... Despite our previous expeditions' successes in retrieving Power Stars, the team wishes to set up a static entry point. Something about allowing crews to enter througha regulated location. Petrila believes that mixing the colors used for each painting combined into one would create a static place where further expeditions could operate in a more efficient manner. The result was a pitch black painting, ripples emanating from the center in almost chilling wave. While my colleagues hotly debated on whether or not to use the portal, claiming that they were not sure of its safety, I insisted that we not let such a golden opportunity go to waste. We will be making our first excursion in just three days. I cannot wait! --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 26, Day 003"

Elnar remembered things that the transparent toad in the castle had mentioned. He'd being thrown inside a black painting, one that rippled somewhat like water. Was it the same one? Were these paintings the gates that the rabbit spoke of? Of course they were...but why did he call them seals? Elnar pulled out what seemed to be the next of the notes.

"... The expedition has only been going for a few days and already things have begun to go wrong. Exploding towers… spheres piled on top of each other have taken out most of our equipment, as well as a toad that was resting in the wagon. Members of the team complain of being unable to sleep due to strange dreams, and of hearing noises that they claim sound like clawing outside of their tents. Petrila has brought up concerns regarding food and water to me, she believes that we will run out before our planned return. I think we can make it. With one less mouth to feed, we won't need nearly as much food over the course of the month. And odd thing that had been pointed out to me by some of the crew is that there are tiles, stone tiles as if this place had been constructed nestled deep within the ground. Could it have any relation to the castle Portabel is building? --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 26, Day 012."

The things that the journal described... Towering monoliths of spheres growing on a surface of indigo grass, exploding with debris that formed more structures... Floating chunks of rock that crashed together with deafening crashes that put thunder to shame...

"... We've lost three more men, two humans and the last toad that had come with us. Towers of blood red soil, soil that stained even metal... Woktel screamed something about a shadow of a bird that he could not see for several days before simply disappearing. Only five of us remain now, but I'm beginning to have doubts about the ability of such a horrid place to be of help our kingdom... It seems to almost have a life if its own, as if it's toying with us. Just the other day Malit was screaming about something following us from below the ground; that even in this putrid bog there was a something living underneath the ground. Tomorrow we set up camp by the cavern Petrila had spotted up ahead. We'll try to figure out a way home from there. Professor Relkir Demwi, Year 26, Day 024."

A knot formed inside Elnar's throat as he wondered if perhaps this place was where the Princess was right now. How was Mario going to be able to save her if she was trapped in such a place?!

"... I've... I've managed to send Petrila back. At least she is safe… This place is messing with us. There is no sun to watch the passage of time, soot-black snow. W've lost almost everything. It led the expedition right into its stomach. I... I don't even know what to call it. Words escape me. It's like layers, one inside of the other… On one side of the cavern is a mountainside surrounded by a black sea, something Petrila named the Obsidian Ocean. We were fools to think we could simply cross it. Only me and Petrila made it back out... If this place works in such layers, is the ocean a means of protection? Is it a way to divide the layers? If there is a level below us, I can only imagine what horrors await.

Whatever the answer is, this entity must be kept out of the kingdom. Whatever the cost, it may not be allowed to cross over the threshold into our world. I've given this diary to her to take back along with instructions. Destroy the paintings. They must all be destroyed so that whatever is in here does not make it out. Please forget me. Forget me Petrila, ...forget me. --- Professor Relkir Demwi, Year....."

The remainder of the volume was illegible.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"So... You mean that you used to live in the Mushroom Kingdom as well? King Portabel... That was over 200 years ago! How... how old are you? What was my ancestor like?" Peach leaned forward to take a closer look at Demwi. He looked... old, gray hair and beard... almost colorless gray eyes... Yet, there wasn't anything that would've implied he'd even been over one hundred years old. While the princess had heard the tale of the origin of the castle from her father, there was never any mention of paintings that lead to other worlds. Demwi chuckled softly at her question, walking over to the table where she sat and pouring some soup into her bowl. A warm, familiar smell filled Peach's nostrils. Tomato soup... Something she hadn't experienced the entire time she'd been here.

"You know... I'm not quite sure, your highness. I've… simply waited here. This place doesn't really have a night and day, perhaps because of that… time simply doesn't follow the same course as outside." Demwi reasoned to himself while pouring his own bowl of soup. Sitting down in the chair that he had set his warn out coat on, he looked at the young woman across the table from him. What was likely once beautiful flowing blonde hair had been reduced to a matted mass wrapped around her body, possibly as a result of her not bathing since she'd gotten here. Princess Toadstool looked nothing like what he'd call a princess, though the torn gown he'd seen her in seemed to remind him.

"Demwi. You said that you sent Petila back out with instructions; they were for keeping the creature out of our world, weren't they?" Peach took a warm spoonful as she finished her question, inviting the familiar flavor to run down her throat slowly. The old man nodded in response. "Then… how did you manage to seal this place away?" Demwi looked uncomfortable for a moment as Peach finished the question, his hand shaking slightly as he reached for the table's edge.

"I...I told her to destroy all of the paintings that were made using the special paint... As a secondary measure... Power Stars… The instructions to ensure that the gateway was closed hinged on their use. You know what the Power Stars are, don't you princess?" Peach shook her head, stirring her spoon through the thick orange cream-like soup. She remembered that the Power Stars were mentioned quite a few times within the last few hours.. Bowser had claimed to be after them for sure, but what exactly were they? "No?" A smile came over the old man's face as he let out a light chuckle. "Power Stars are physical manifestations of pure cosmic energy. We've seen them in space all the time, but it would be an extremely rare event for one to fall within reach. Prior to my work on the properties of Warp Pipes I'd worked on trying to find ways to utilize Power Stars... However my work came to a standstill when I found out that even though my theories might have been correct, there were no Power Stars to be found within the Mushroom Kingdom. At least none that we knew about at the time." Professor Demwi stood up to take both of their empty bowls back into the sink.

"No Power Stars? But... then how did you have them used to seal this place away?" Peach followed Demwi towards the sink as she spoke, standing behind the old man as he began washing the Bowls. "And how is there water or wood here?!" There were inconsistencies everywhere. It didn't seem that there were trees growing anywhere nearby, nor that there was plumbing for water pipes.

"This place isn't like the world we came from. Princess, you have to understand. I've found that what one expects, or more likely what one desires can manifest here. To an extent. For instance, this cabin formed because I wanted safety and food." Demwi interrupted Peach's attempt to interject. "I know what you want to ask, 'why doesn't it let you out?'… Well I think it may have to do with either the place not wanting to _let_ us out, or… Or it could be because we don't really want to leave… Or a combination of both, but trying to bring logic here may get you killed." Demwi's expression had fallen; a grim look was given to Peach as he steadily walked towards one of the chairs in the living room. Peach hadn't forgotten, what had happened last time she'd been in the cabin. The clawing and tearing at the walls… It made it a bit difficult to follow Demwi. "... Don't worry, it doesn't know we're in here now. It's perfectly safe." The old man's words were hardly a comfort. "Fine, suit yourself. Yes... well, the Power Stars... well..."

The next set of journals weren't written in the same handwriting as the previous ones. Elnar found that while earlier entries were written in a large, printed hand... These entries were written by someone with much finer handwriting, a lighter touch that made it harder to decipher due to the ravages of time. Were these written by the Petrila Greenhorne mentioned by Professor Demwi?

"... After almost a month within that world, I've managed to return to the safety of the Mushroom Kingdom. Managing to find a way to exit was a miracle, considering the losses we endured. The expedition was a complete failure I am the only survivor, Professor Relkir Demwi was unable to follow me out and the rest of the team was unfortunately lost during the expedition. Per the professor's instruction I will attempt to destroy the remaining paintings.

The reason being… The professor and I fear that upon awakening... Whatever is inside that monstrous world could affect the castle through the remaining paintings. I fear it may even be able to use the warp pipes to enter our world. Were that to happen... I do not even wish to think how it could pervert our world. I've spoken with King Portabel on the subject, informing him of the fate of the expedition. --- Petrila Greenhorne, Artist. Year 27 Day 045"

Destroy the paintings? Obviously they hadn't destroyed all of them if their frames hung inside the castle as he read this. Elnar turned through several more ruined pages before finding another legible entry.

"What was inside that world… It isn't worth the risk to use these gates to reach Power Stars. How are we to go about destroying the paintings? King Portabel doesn't quite believe what had happened to the others, but he has allowed me to attempt to get rid of them. …"

"...Five of the horrid paintings have been destroyed. Unfortunately simply tearing them is not enough, as they simply absorb sharp objects within themselves. The destruction of the first gate created, the undersea cavern that was made from water has been impossible. Attempting to remove the underground cavern painting caused it to fall onto the floor, spilling into a well-like pit. King Portabel ordered the remains sealed off below the castle to prevent entry. I am beginning to fear that destruction of all of these paintings is going to be impossible... But what can we do? I have to try, it's what Professor Demwi would have wanted. --- Petrila Greenhorne, Artist. Year 28 Day 231."

"...Less than 17 paintings remain, though the remainder have proven to be... indestructible. Crushing and burning the remains of my paintings of the clouds has only caused the fireplace we threw it in to begin radiating the same energy of warp pipes... In fact, I'm afraid that energy from the destroyed paintings is only building up in at least three places in the castle. There may be a solution though, something that Demwi had mentioned to me once before that we could use to turn the remaining paintings into seals. Power Stars. True... Cosmic energy doesn't occur normally inside the Mushroom Kingdom, but Professor Demwi said it's common in space... We've gathered one hundred and twenty from our prior explorations inside the paintings could be used to create a permanent barrier utilizing the remaining paintings. We will begin placing the stars we have within the paintings tomorrow. Petrila Greenhorne, Artist. Year 33, Day 024"

The Power Stars allowed the paintings to become seals? Then... What would happen if the Power Stars were removed by Bowser and the Koopa Troopa? Elnar felt a chill down his back as he thought on it, there wasn't even anything that he could do... All he could hope for is that Mario would make it in time.

"...At least seventy of the Power Stars are in place, but I've been wondering... Is there really no way for me to rescue Professor Demwi? I... I don't know if he's dead... though after all these years King Portabel believes it to be far too late to attempt a rescue. Demwi... I know you told me to not even think about looking back when I went through the portal... but since we can't destroy it. Maybe... Maybe you can come back somehow? Utilizing a master star the king even managed to seal the black gateway. We've buried it far outside the castle walls, where no one would be able to accidentally use it. The only way anyone could enter the paintings now would be if they managed to force the king to enter, and with the military might of the Mushroom Kingdom... I doubt that.

I...I simply haven't been able to paint since then. Ever since that world between the walls took you... took the team... I simply haven't been able to bring myself to pick up the brush. The dreams... They come every day now. Dreams about what we saw in that world. The screaming, the violet sky... Stench of death everywhere. I just hope that if you're alive somewhere out there.... I just hope that you haven't forgotten me. We will be finished with the sealing within a month, and then King Toadstool intends to lock up all of the portraits beneath the castle so that they may never be used again. I… I just wish that Demwi could return. --- Petrila Greenhorne, Artist. Year 36 Day 210"

Peach wasn't sure how to feel, she didn't know that the beautiful paintings she had hung throughout her castle were in fact so dangerous. Either way, according to what Demwi had told her... They were supposed to be harmless unless the initial seal was broken... by her being thrown in here.

"Obviously... The destruction of the paintings didn't work... and apparently neither did the attempt to keep them sealed permentantly. Princess, this Bowser... Do you think he could have know what was in here? What he was unleashing upon the Mushroom Kingdom?" Demwi leaned forward, it was the first time Peach had heard him ask her a question that he seemed to really be interested in.

"I… don't know, but I doubt it. The words he spoke before throwing me in here by my hair were 'this place will keep you a fresh bride'... something like that." Peach gave her best impression of the Shelled King's voice, a voice that sounded like his throat was covered by sand paper.

"In that case... I believe he may have simply heard a myth about the castles' paintings containing Power Stars... Whatever the case, I fear that what he has done will endanger the lives of everyone. If this... this creature escapes from this place... I do not know what properties it will have in the Mushroom Kingdom, but it may be able to warp the entire kingdom to become as horrid as this place. A dead husk full of nothing but death and misery." Demwi's voice had grown quiet and flat as he finished, Peach feeling an empty feeling inside her as she imagined her beautiful kingdom becoming as destructive... as vile. Despair. She felt despair building inside her as she realized how powerless she was to stop it.

"Is there anything we can do? I've lost Meyril... Fernil and the others… many of the toads inside the castle... but... I don't want to lose the kingdom. If that happens, everyone will… I… I can't simply wait for Mario to rescue me." Even as she felt a warm fire burn inside her, the pain from her still healing legs and hands reminded her of where she was. Demwi faced her, his hands clenching into the handles of the chair he sat in.

"There's no exit. This place isn't a straight line, Princess. I've explored as much as I could and all I've found is the mountain of soot-black snow and the desert-bog. Besides the cavern to connect them... I've afraid the only other thing there is here is the Obsidian Ocean... I've heard voices sometimes from within, there may be more than just the creature out there. Even… Even if I got out… She's not waiting for me anymore." Demwi didn't even budge while speaking, hand slowly rising until stopping against his forehead as his eyes seemed to lose focus. His eyes looked burnt, as if tears would pour at any moment.

"You said that this place operates, at least somewhat on will..." Peach stood up from the chair she had been resting against. "I'm not going to simply wait here until I lose more friends, more of my people. I'm Princess Peach Toadstool. Soon I will even be a Queen, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. My inability to take action cost me my castle... and cost many of my people their lives." Peach flung the door open, biting her lip as she ran outside through the consuming black falling snow.

A cliff, sheer and falling to a black mass down below. Like waves breaking against a cliff, black liquid was fingering its way up. She could hear it already, raspy breathing just beyond her sight as the creature moved closer... surrounding her. Peach wasn't going to be afraid this time, not after what happened to the other toads.

"I don't know what else to do, but... I've nothing to lose. You'll not have me as well! Then the ocean will take me!" Her feet left the ledge as she dived. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Peach could've sworn she heard something in the back of her mind screaming for her not to do it as felt herself plunge within the Obsidian Ocean. "Meyril... I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Howls and screeches from just beyond the soot-black snowfall hadn't reached her consciousness until she was already deep within the darkness. Peach had reasoned that if the Obsidian Ocean was a part of everything else that was here... then it might hold the key to her escape. It was funny, if Mario were here he'd tell her she was insane for trying something like this… but there really was nothing else to try if Demwi couldn't find a way out for centuries.

It was odd… Was it something in the color? Pulsating black material around her brought out memories in Princess Toadstool… Memories of the portrait that Bowser had thrown her into to start this mess. Was she simply afraid of living for centuries in such a horrid place? Was that why she took chance of dying in this black muck? Either way, it didn't matter anymore... If she were to die now, then so be it. Her heart didn't seem to regret the decision.

As her hands moved through the substance, the feeling wasn't quite cold... Neither was it like water... Billowing thoughts in the back of Peach's mind questioned if jumping into the Obsidian Ocean was a good idea. A resolve seemed easy to make while running towards the edge, but it faded as she realized that she could not swim up... The only direction that the substance encasing her would allow her to move in was down.

Memories came back to her, the dream she had while resting in the cavern crawled back into her mind. A restless tremble shook through her body as she remembered the limitless blackness surrounding her… binding her as the red soil covered her body. Peach jerked her head around at sounds that she couldn't spot, maybe that she'd even just imagined.

It was odd. While Peach couldn't see anything beyond, her own body was visible clear as day. The Obsidian Ocean was more… more like quicksand than liquid. Though, through odd luck air didn't seem to be needed here, as hours passed and Peach didn't feel the need to return to the surface. As Peach dived down as fast as she could, she hoped that the vine-like structures she'd seen attacking the bird wouldn't entangle her.

Strange vocalizations fell around the princess, echoing sounds of snarls and roars from above nearly drove Peach into a scream as the snarls became a howling roar, not like any animal Peach had ever heard as bursts of light and disruptions erupted from above her. It was coming. That same creature that had attacked her and the toads at the towers of blood red soil… the same roar that had caused the towers to crumble and… and caused her friends to…

Brief illumination flashed down upon her with each creaking screech, Peach could almost make out the shape along the surface. Light made the claw-like marks stream across the surface, fading with them. Was…was it the same beast that had placed her onto the mountain of black snow? Her hear beat faster each time she saw it, something that she couldn't really describe trying to reach down into the medium that encased her before being pushed back. Was it not part of the Obsidian Ocean? Or... was it being repelled by it? It didn't really matter, all Peach wanted right now was a way out. Swimming down became easier now as the bursts of light caused by the creature's thrashing above gave her brief glimpses into the depths below.

Of course it occurred to her that not a few days ago Peach would've been horrified of trying something like this. Diving into an ocean of pure black... A place that seemed to lack any sort of smell, not a shred of visible life… not much of anything beyond her own hands really. _Why am I doing this? Am I desperate? _desperate… that was a way to put it. The princess had lost everything now. What could she accomplish here, in these black depths?

Was Meyril even real? Were any of the toads she encountered here real? She knew Fernil was around in the castle beforehand... but what if none of them were really here? What if they were all dead before she'd even arrived... Of course, it wouldn't have happened if she were more vigilant and focused on being able to defend the castle... Instead she'd made almost all of her castle into an art gallery... An art gallery! All it ended up doing was leaving them powerless as Bowser attacked. If anyone was directly to blame for the loss of the castle's toads it was her. Though… if Bowser had truly gained new power to allow him to simply teleport inside… It would have been for naught in any case.

She remembered Demwi's story of his expedition here, the one that eventually led to his entrapment within this horrible place... A world that was formed between the walls of the castle within the Mushroom Kingdom and the worlds created by the paint made from the properties of warp pipes. What if there really was no way out of here? What if she was just as trapped as Demwi was…

How had Bowser learned of the means of releasing the seals? He'd only mentioned Power Stars when he had thrown here inside this place, he couldn't have know what was truly in here... But... there were bodies of Koopa Troopa lodged in the mounds of blood red sand. The Shelled King must have experimented with the black painting before. On his own people…

Peach's arms tensed, a dry fire building within her body as she remembered what that beast had done to the toads within her castle... To think he had experimented with this world on his own people... And after all of that he'd had the nerve to use it on her people as well... The warmth turned to a cold feeling inside her chest.

Speaking of Bowser, Demwi had told her that someone was using the paintings in the castle, as he'd seen a blue and red light burst through the realm momentarily after she had followed Meyril. Peach remembered what she had seen in the plains of blue grass… The same light and swirl in the sky, something she could've even reached it if Meyril hadn't... No, if she hadn't run away. Was the source of that light... Mario? If he had figured out that he'd need to restore the Power Stars... then there would be hope that this place would remain sealed. However, Demwi believed that if Mario had only collected the stars... then Petrila's paintings would no longer be able to hold back the creature that was this place. Peach had to find a way out, to at least be able to tell Mario to return the stars to their paintings.

It was sudden; a flash of light nearly blinded her as pressure pushed back against her descent before breaking away as the darkness around her gave way. The fall felt like it lasted for hours... A sky that shown with blue light, clouds high in the sky.

A splash as Peach found herself struggling to get to the surface of the pond she had fallen in. Flailing her arms until she found a way to keep herself buoyant, Peach slowly made it to the shore.

"Water... Real Water! This must mean... I'm... I'm back! I'm back home!" Spoken between pants and gasps for air, the princess realized that she had landed in the pond outside her castle. At least it looked like her castle, twisting her head and body to get a good look all she could see was the sunny sky that she was familiar with. Light from the sun shone against the white marble walls of the castle. "I...I can't believe it... I thought i'd never see my home again..." Peach spoke to herself as she slowly hobbled onto the stone pathway.

Cold, shining water in the moat flowed with the same calm sprinkling she'd remembered, blue water that she could see her reflection in on a hot summer's day. The shimmering sky reflected off the surface brought a smile to the princess' face. Peach laughed as she ran to the door, Mario would be so glad to hear that she managed to escape from Bowser's kidnapping herself, he'd truly be proud of her!

The door knob was warm, the way it would be if someone had used it recently. It something that would've worried her just a day ago; However, as she swung the door open... something seemed off about the place to her. The castle interior looked... different, the doors seemed... miss-aligned against their frames, bent in places. Walls didn't quite line up like she'd remembered... In fact, the walls seemed to be moving. A rhythmic motion every few seconds as the castle appeared to shake slowly.

"No... It...it can't be..." Peach's mouth dropped open as she turned around and ran outside. Everything was wrong. _No… _The princess' heart sunk as sun in the sky faded; a cold wind blowing across the bridge as she tried to run. The water below the moat grew thick and slow, its shine fading until it became a dull gray. As the grass surrounding the castle began to turn a sickly black-ish brown color and shatter, Peach noticed them. Statues in the grass, statues of Koopa Troopa, statues of toads... Mario… They were fleeing… At least they looked like their were fleeing, faces contorted as if they'd seen something horrific, as if...

She first saw it below her feet. What was once smooth, white marble that shined with the sun had turned into a fetid deep violet and red color. An overpowering smell of old, stale blood came over Peach's nostrils. Turning around, Peach gasped as she realized her entire castle had turned the same. The castle... it was breathing. Expanding and contrasting with each movement just as within, the castle was as if alive. The moat below had turned to a black as dark as soot, its flow stagnating to that of molasses.

"No... This isn't right..." It was too easy, the princess realized, her 'escape' through the Obsidian Ocean was far too easy. Wherever this was, she was still inside the world within the walls. Was this... nightmare... Was it the creature's plan for her kingdom? Looking around at the stone figures, their horrified visages burning onto her mind. "It's not going to end, is it? You're not going to stop until you've done this to all of the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, are you?!" Peach found herself yelling at the structure, unable to stop the onslaught of emotion burning in her chest.

Was it all useless? No... It wanted something from her. If she was still alive, she must still be useful to whatever this thing was. It didn't have a problem killing anyone else. If it was keeping her alive for something, it wouldn't kill her now. Or it was simply preparing to kill her now. Peach had a feeling there wasn't really any turning back, all she could do was move forward. Was this really what she wanted? If Demwi's words were correct… Then she was let here at least in part by her own desires…

"Princess! You're not going to go in there are you? It's dangerous!" Peach could have screamed, her eyes widening upon hearing Meyril's voice wasn't something she was expecting right now. He couldn't be here. Meyril wasn't alive, he wasn't real. He died.

"You're not here... You're not real." Peach covered her ears as the small toad tried to respond, tears running down the sides of his eyes. Lowering her hands, Peach couldn't simply ignore him.

"Why are you saying that, princess? I found my way back to you, just like you wanted." Meyril ran over to Peach, putting his small arms around one of her legs as she tried to back away, causing her to fall backwards onto the indigo grass. The grass shattered beneath her weight as Peach tried to crawl back away from the toad, her eyes still wide with panic.

"No. You're not really here, I know what you are. You're a part of this place. GET AWAY!" Peach screamed as she tried to remove Meyril from her leg with her hands, trying unsuccessfully to remove the small toad's vice-like grip.

"I'm... i'm not a part of this place! Princess! I've always been there for you, can't you remember? Ever since you wanted someone to save, I've been here. I.. I thought you wanted me." Meyril released her, allowing the princess to back away further. Peach's erratic breathing calmed down slowly, after a moment coherent thought returned to her. Was... Was Meyril really... was he really not a part of this place?

"What are you... what are you talking about? What do you mean that you thought that I wanted you?" Peach was still shaking; she'd remembered seeing Meyril's motionless body. Unmoving… decaying before her eyes when the ground had burst open when they were inside the desert-bog. Seeing him again now... It wasn't right, he shouldn't be here.

"I... I'm here because of you. Princess... If you don't want me here... I... I'll" Meyril became transparent as his words stuttered. Peach's eyes widened again, a jagged breath escaping her throat as the princess felt her heart jump in her chest as she watched the small toad begin to vanish before her eyes.

"No! I'm sorry! I..I didn't mean it. Please, stay here. I need you Meyril. Now more than ever, I need you." Peach smiled as she slowly crawled over to Meyril, putting her arms around the nearly transparent toad. Tears flowed from her eyes, holding the toad close to her. "I'm sorry... Meyril. I wasn't about to save you... Please… please let me remember you." Peach opened her eyes as she felt her arms enclose around air.

Princess Toadstool brought herself to onto her feet, almost losing balance as she stood up straight before turning towards the living castle. The pulsating violet walls, covered in scarlet red lines that looked like glowing veins and flesh weren't even reacting to her presence.

"I'm not going to simply stay here and die, and I'm definitely not going to just let you do this to my kingdom." Meyril was in her heart, as were the rest of the toads that had died because of this horrible place. "I'm not going to back down anymore." The last words spoken as Peach began to walk towards the entrance of the horrible place.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Passages… Stank, pitch black passages… It took Elnar what felt like hours to find his way back through the tunnel to the castle. Of course it didn't help that he didn't have the rabbit to follow this time. Thankfully someone seemed to have drained the moat, allowing him to be able to traverse the tunnels without the constant fear that the water might trap and drown him. Feeling his way through, the toad made it back to the main foyer of the castle; Elnar found that something… _something_ was different... odd in his surroundings. It was a slight difference, but the castle seemed to be slightly askew... Almost as if corners of the castle didn't quite line up properly. Parts of the stone tile in the floor seemed to dip, a soft feel to the touch, as well as the air becoming a tad warmer.

The once locked door into the tower was hanging open, one of the double doors swinging slowly with a dull creak that almost sounded like a light moan. Something about the castle now felt...wrong... Elnar felt a sense of dread come over his body like a draping of ice cold water. Every step along the stairway felt like the castle itself was reacting, pushing against his feet. _A…am I just imagining this?_ He had to be, the words in the journals danced around in his head. If Bowser or Mario had removed the Power Stars, what…what was stopping the entity the seals had been in place to hold back? A sense of building panic pulled Elnar up the main staircase, into the main art gallery. Running around the ring shaped room, Elnar could see a strange difference in some of the paintings. Color had begun to fade from them, along with a stench hanging in the air… It smelled like rotten meat… As if they'd begun to die inside. Along the the edges of the frames, the toad could see small marks, scratches forming in the castle walls surrounding the paintings. Cracks and claw marks that seemed to be filling with something of a color that the toad could only describe as blacking violet.

"No…" Elnar's heart sank, was what was written in those journals... Really happening, here in the castle?! If...if that were the case, then these marks... as if scrapes by something clawing... reaching out… The seals were breaking. It was only a matter of time until there was nothing holding it back. Elnar's hands had become an icy cold, a tremble shuddering up his legs and through his torso. Mario had to be found, quickly. Running up the stairway towards the castle tower, he couldn't help but notice the white marble making up the walls darkening in places, once perfect lines marking the bricks beginning to distort and take strange vine-like shapes.

Another one of those odd doors was left open near the top, two halves of a burnt out emblem of a star were emblazoned on the surface. Elnar was too driven to stop and look at the bisected star, instead running to the top to the room where he had last seen the princess.

A brief glimpse, the panicked toad saw the plumber dressed in red and blue for a moment before he disappeared, jumping onto a ledge and disappearing from sight. Panting heavily from the exertion, Elnar cursed to himself.

"A little toad left out all alone?" A mocking roar of a laugh following the grating, raspy voice was something that Elnar hadn't expected to hear. Turning around slowly, the toad could make out the spiky outline of the dragon-turtle. Every breath drawn was like a snarl forced through steel pipes, every step taken an small earthquake nearly pulling Elnar off his feet. "What's the rush? Are you looking for Mario?" A blistering wind burst from the massive beast as it let out what should have been called a chuckle. "I saw you run out of here little runt, now... why did you return? Feeling… bold? Haha..hehe…"

"You! Do you realize what you've done to the princess?! I hope Mario gives you what's yours! I-" Elnar was cut off as the Shelled King vanished from sight, only to appear behind him. It only took one swing, one swing to send Elnar into the wall.

"It doesn't matter where she is. All that concerns me now is the Master Star is mine, and soon the rest of the Power Stars will be as well." Bowser walked closer to the heap lying against the wall. "I suppose Chomp chomps would rather like live food though, bah..." Bowser cursed under his breath as he vanished into thin air.

This place... It wasn't right. From the outside, though disturbed and perverted, the place still looked like her castle... Inside though, was another story. What sense remained in the structuring of the outdoors didn't seem to matter anymore. Voices, Peach heard voices as she ran down the tunnel-like structures. Asymmetrical corridors covered with more and more glowing red vines as the walls bulged outwards...

At least the vines provided some light; otherwise... otherwise she would've been groping around in the dark. She wouldn't stop, even with how tired her shaking body was, otherwise the noises would flood her again. Scratching noises just around corners, what sounded like a roar just beyond what her eyes could see in the chilling black waves that seemed to encompass her. The roar would fade into a raucous laughter, the sound melting from the irom-hot screech of a beast to malicious laughter of a person.

It... It might not have been the best idea to simply rush in here, Peach hadn't exactly thought on what she would do once inside. Sure she'd felt a strong resolve while she was outside... but now... in this horrible maze of passageways?

"_What if it was simply leading me wherever it wanted again? What if it will lead me straight to my death?"_

A voice given to her mind, though the princess could have sworn her lips did not move this time.

"_Maybe I should just go back. Back to live in the cold, icy mountain with Demwi; Constantly wrestling with those beasts just outside of the cabin. Maybe I could create another Meyril just to keep me company!"_

No. She resolved that she wouldn't make excuses again, that she wouldn't distract herself from her reality. ...She wouldn't create another Meyril. What kind of monster would create such a creature only to reject and destroy it? …what kind of monster would do it twice?

Peach stopped. It couldn't be her thoughts, she'd made the resolve to return home. She had to face it… face whatever was calling from her mind. Running… the princess found herself running against the horrible voice in her mind, towards each roar, each snarl and scratching noise she heard. Black mist blocked her sight, the smell of rotten flesh still pungent in her nostrils; Even as the sounds grew louder, more vicious... Walls that had merely bulged out into her path became sharper, becoming as knives that cut at her sides as Peach tried to keep moving. _I have to keep… Keep up…_ Up... the corridor was now angled upwards, her feet feeling out what seemed to be steps in the darkness. What had been soft steps against a soft surface became a series of clicks against solid tile as the princess began to ascend. Scarlet red vines pulsated like veins against the walls, looking as if they would reach for her at any moment. Along the ceiling was more of the same, bringing a cold unease into her heart as she held back her fear's attempts to turn her around.

A loud shudder followed the click of her boots against the surface as Peach reached what looked like the center of the staircase. A recoiling twitch of the walls, stopping the princess in her tracks before the floor seemed to rip open at the seams. She ran, running as fast as she could the steps as a sound of screeching echoed from below. Red vine-like tendrils burst out of the openings, their glow illuminating the dark, mist drenched passageway as she clung onto a remaining piece of the floor. Slime covering the soot black ledge, along with a hot, humid breath-like wind made it hard to hold on to prevent falling into the maw below. A waiting sea of black-violet, glowing scarlet vines, and indigo markings that reached for the princess. The walls expanded around her as if it was attempting an easier reach. As a vine burst through the wall next to her, Peach quickly put her foot on top of it before using the leverage to pull herself up before the vine could grow out far enough to snare her.

Peach crawled on her hands and knees; panic paralyzing her limbs preventing her from properly stand up until she was out of reach of the searching tendrils. Gasping for breath as she pulled herself up to her feet, the princess almost felt a laugh extrude from her throat. Was she going to stay here forever? If... If there really was no way out of here... then there was no reason for her to keep fighting for her life... There... No... No, she promised herself that she'd make it out, for the sake of all of the friends she'd lost here. She had to pull herself together and get out of this horrid place. One step after another, Peach tried to will her body to keep moving as the corridor set in front of her seemed to last forever. It twisted and turned, the only certain direction seemed to be a staggering climb upwards. There wasn't anymore clawing or scratching, nor were there any sounds of roars or shrieks. Just breathing… The walls vibrated with spasms at fixed intervals. Whatever this place was, it seemed to have given up trying to drive her away, or maybe… Peach was surprised when her extended hands ran into something solid... Something flat against the wall. A wooden door lodged inside the black-violet wall. Peach turned the handle, slowly at first... but quickly opening it as she felt the cool familiarity of the doorknob. It was bright inside, brighter than anything she'd expected in this terrible place.

A breeze was the first thing that caused her to realize what was different here; a cool wind caused her pink gown to flutter. A gasp escaped her lips at the realization; her clothes that she'd received from Demwi were gone. Instead her full gown was there. In fact... this was her room... Her own private room within the castle. A sparsely open window was swaying on its hinges while providing the breeze, bringing Peach out of her dull stupor on the plush red chair. Standing up from the large red chair onto her feet, the princess found everything in place as she looked around the room. Her collection of parasols was hanging from a rack she'd placed in the corner, the large white fluffy bed she'd slept in every night since she was a little girl stood just where it had been the morning before the castle's remodeling reached completion.

Wasn't she inside that... That awful place... dark violet walls, nearly black... mist that obscured everything more than a few feet around her… glowing scarlet vines covering the walls that would pulsate as if an animal's veins. Was... was it all a bad dream? Had she merely fallen asleep on her chair while waiting for the ceremony? It couldn't have been her imagination; she couldn't have simply dreamed up Bowser's invasion and conquest of her castle... What that shelled beast had done to her and the toads... Peach rushed towards the door, trying to turn the door knob for several minutes, the metalling handle not budging in the slightest.

_"Wouldn't it be nice... if this was all I had to worry about?" _

Her own voice sounded from behind her, though as she turned around Peach couldn't see anyone else there. A chill ran down her spine as she heard her own voice again in the form of a light giggle surrounding her.

_"Just sitting in here, for the rest of my life... no responsibilities, not that I'd ever really need to do anything. Father did all the work before; all I do is sit around being a princess and if anything goes wrong... If I'm kidnapped by Bowser, everything will be fine. After all, Mario will save me. When I'm gone the toads will run the Kingdom, I don't have to become a queen at all!" _

Peach covered her ears as the giggle that followed each sentence turned into a laugh . Were these... were there her real thoughts? She'd heard words that felt like they'd simply erupted from her mind before, while wandering through the chaos.

"You're wrong... That's not true; I don't want to just be a princess. I..." Peach tried to stand up to the voice, pouring out from all corners of the room.

_"Don't lie. There was no need to turn the castle into one large art gallery, instead of focusing on the ability to rule effectively, or defending it from attack... all I needed was for it to look pretty! And for me to be admired as well while sitting inside it." _

The laughter rolled off of the walls, a malicious sound enveloping her body as Peach backed onto the bed. It was as if pressure came onto her body from all angles, a feeling like crushing force onto her form.

_"Ah... and remember when the toads were looking towards me for help? When all they wanted was to be safe, for their ruler to protect them... I ran! I ran to save myself! And I lived! I survived, even though I had told them that Mario was coming for all of us. In the end though... In the end... All that mattered was that I was safe. Wasn't Meyril there for that same purpose? Just so that I could feel better about what I did!" _

"No! Stop it!" Peach covered her ears as she buried her head inside the blankets. Her heart was burning as she knew deep inside that the words had truth to them. She had known that Mario was coming to save her, and truly had left the toads to what was their death. "I... I... I said I was sorry, I know what I did was wrong! I'm here to make amends!" Peach screamed in response, sitting up with her arms clenched against her sides. Trying to stand up the princess felt a strong force trying to pull her back down against the bed, something she was unable to fight off despite her effort.

_"Ha! The only reason I'm here for is to die a hero... In the end, it's just the same as the reason I'd avoided leaving when Meyril ran away. Just as I'd thrown myself into the Obsidian Ocean… I don't want to go back; here... here I'm not just a victim when Bowser is there to kidnap me. Here I'm going to always be a princess... Always someone to save. That's all I want… to be an eternal victim." _

The voice seemed relieved, a breathy sigh. Each drawn out pause bringing more and more heat to Peach's face, her fingers digging into the bed underneath her body as the princess pulled herself to her feet against the force that only wanted her to remain unmoving.

"You're wrong... I may think like that at times, perhaps... but that's not who I really am. I'm Peach Toadstool. Soon I will be a queen. My friends paid the price for my prior weakness, my irresponsibility… I'm not going to let their deaths be in vain! If you were truly me... You'd understand that!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_"All that is needed is me! I need nothing else… If Mario will come to save me, I have everything I want. Deep in here, within this beast… I will dwell forever." _

The voice's sugar-like softness had begun to fade; the voice itself was melting away into a snarl. Peach could see the reflection in the mirror across from her bed begun to shake and warp, fading from the beautiful pink evening gown that she wore into the torn dress she'd borne while fleeing through the chaos of this realm.

"I, however… will not." Princess Toadstool grabbed one of the parasols near her bed and swung with against the mirror. A crack formed; web-like mesh expanding from the center of the full body mirror, blinding rays of light burst through. Light shone against her and the walls surrounding her, with each part of the room the ray hit becoming more warped and decayed as Peach readied the parasol for another swing. Missing the mirror, sound of shattering filled her ears as the wall she had struck burst open, flooding the room in the same light. It was everywhere, a vice-like pressure gripping at the princess' body as more and more of the nauseating light enveloped her body.

"Bleh! Ew!" Peach pulled at the many veins and bulbous scarlet vines surrounding her body, the smell of rotten meat becoming overwhelming as she managed to force her hand out. Violet-black material began to block the weak visibility she had as it tried to envelope her again. Using all of her remaining energy, the princess managed to pull herself free of the wall's grasp, her hand still clenched tight against the parasol as she tried to find her bearings. She was inside a large, but uneven room. It looked like one of the corridors from before… but it was expanded significantly to the size of a ballroom. A distant howling of wind from high above in the misty column was the only thing indicative of its height. _Was that an effect of this place... or was it a product of my own mind? And… AGHHH! _ Peach dropped the parasol that she had been holding in her hand, backing away from it slowly. How could she still be holding that? Wasn't… wasn't what just happened only a hallucination… Then again, not much that happened every really seemed to be imagined here. Even Meyril, who had emerged from her mind… He had been real _here_.

It was the same one; after the princess carefully picked up the parasol, she could remember where it was from. It was the very same one… That parasol which Peach used to defend herself from Bowser's attack when she was inside the castle tower. The last thing she held before the Shelled King had thrown her into this horrid place. Picked out especially for this day... The parasol her mother had left for her. _Did it find its way here? To help her? How?..._ Peach crawled away from the festering wall as more of the pulsating scarlet vines moved to grasp her again, jagged bursts of breaths increasing as the princess pulled herself to her feet.

The door wasn't there… At least not where she had entered... All that was there was the portion of the wall she'd been entombed in. Finally releasing her nose, Peach had to take another gulp of the putrid air as she noticed that there weren't any visible exits. The only way to go was up. Sets of violet-black steps formed a stairwell wrapingwrapping up along the walls of the room, What the princess could see up above looked more like stone than the walls here, strange lines running along the length of the steps illuminated it with a soft blue glow. _Even if this is a trap… I really have no other choice now._

As the princess began her ascent, a thought occurred; _If I'm truly inside the beast, wouldn't it be able to kill me without a thought? Why am I still alive? _ Despite Peach's questions, the only response was the continued breath-like expansion and contraction of the blackish purple walls. _Could it be… that it's power is focusing on getting into my world? _ It only took a few more silent, hollow steps for her to break into a run; ascending along the spiral staircase jutting out of the walls of the tall chamber. _Where of this is, it must be the way out, I can't wait any longer… Wait _ Peach could hear the light howl wind blowing from up above; the scent of a fresh breeze filled her nostrils, momentarily driving out the horrible scent of rotten flesh. The princess saw the blackened mist surrounding her clear away towards a view of the violet-red sky above.

Panting with exhaustion, the princess edged closer and closer towards the sky, hands outstretched towards the unnatural light as if looking for a sign that it would lead her home. A cool wind blew against her hair, breaking through water-matted crust. Walls that had been black, covered with pulsating vines ebbed to allow for brighter and brighter marble bricks. Stone that reminded her of her castle. The way home! It was almost in her grasp... she could feel it just ahead.

Resonated through the tower, a rumbling seemed to peel away the white tiled stairway beneath her feet. Chattering sound filled the air as parts of the staircase fell away into the abyss below. The princess jumped for a section that still was in place against the wall, managing to pull herself up onto it as the path she had ascended was lost. _What…what was that?! _ It was shuddering... Peach clung onto the tiles, afraid the quaking would throw her off as the entire castle seemed to moan and twist. She screamed, the princess screamed as the wall grew darker, the foul odor again forcing her to gag as scarlet vines covered the darkened walls. Crawling upwards, overtaking Peach's location and continuing higher.

Screaming, the sounds of muffled cries and shouts enveloped the princess as the walls had begun to write. The princess gasped, noticing the outlines of toads jutting outwards from various sections of the blackened wall. _Oh no… _ Glowing mass of black and red covered their bodies, what struggles were present drowned out by the constantly moving walls.

Peach pulled at the glowing vine covering one of the toads, but as soon as she'd managed to tear one off… another took its place before she could dig any deeper. _No…_ _Why, why won't this come off?! _The princess pulled harder, taking off her gloves and tearing at the warm surface with everything she had.. It was no use, with how deep the struggling form was, the violet-black material simply grew back as she tore it away. After a while, the wall would turn on Peach as well, trying to trap her in its grasp.

"No!" Peach screamed as she used her parasol to smack the vines away. Staggering towards the rim of the staircase, a vice grip forming in her chest as the princess realized that she couldn't save them... Even when they were just a foot or two beyond the wall's edge. Peach collapsed against her parasol, tears streaming down her cheeks. The toads that had only been following her commands, remodeling the castle just as she'd specified... _Without planning any way to adequately defend my home against the dangers I knew were out there_. _…I'm to blame for this, for what's happening to them now._ "I'm... I'm not fit to be queen." Peach whispered to herself between sobs. "I really have no right to return..." Another groan and shudder shook the tower as the blackened mist flooded the light coming from above. Looking up, Peach could see what looked like a ceiling forming, starting from the edges and working its way through towards the middle, leaving her once again solely in the ethereal glow of the scarlet vines in the wall. It wouldn't matter, no matter her resolve... in any moment now… her failures would culminate in the deaths of countless in the mushroom kingdom. Who knows what else could be affected, using the warp pipes it could get into whatever part of the world it wanted... Mario, Luigi, Daisy, countless others… "Father... I'm sorry, I-" A bright glow caught Princess Toadstool's attention, part of the black wall just a few levels above shone with a pale blue light. Slowly approaching, Peach took quiet steps along the now blackened stairwell.

Struggling, something was definitely struggling just below the surface of the wall here. _Is…Is that what's causing the light? _Peach could hear it, the high pitched voices of several toads._ They're fighting… fighting to stay alive. I have no right to give up if they have not. _The princess broke out into a run, grasping at the surface of the wall and digging her nails underneath.

"Come on, open! Open!" Peach closed her eyes, screaming as her fingers dug deeper into the warm walls. "Augh!..." A startled gasp escaped her as the princess fell backwards. Two of them… two small toads had fallen out of the recess in the wall. Both were gasping for air, their red dotted mushroom caps dimmed by black mucous.

"P…princess?" One of the two toads had noticed the young woman's disheveled form sitting against the staircase. "Princess Toadstool!" The other chimed in, the two of them rushing towards the fallen princess who lay there with an expression of utter disbelief on her face.

"You… you guys are really ok…" Eyes wide with disbelief faded, a sense of calmness came over the princess. "I'm…I'm so happy you guys are ok…" Peach threw her arms around the two toads, tears streaming down her face.

"It was strange... I found myself half here, but half in the castle! Elnar and Mario are there! We'll be saved in no time!" One of the toads spoke up suddenly, his squeaky voice partially muddled by the princess' embrace.

"Mario's gotten all of the Power Stars, and is going to confront Bowser in the sky!" The other chimed in, causing Peach to pull away from the two. It felt like her heart had sunk into her stomach, almost as if on cue the tower began to shudder again. She didn't have much time now, if the power stars were removed… then the seals had lost their power... All that remained until her world was no more... was time.

"We have to hurry, follow me." Peach spoke abruptly, pulling herself to her feet before rushing up the staircase. The two toads followed her as best they could as the ethereal lines along the stairwell's edge led their way up to the top.

There had to be something wrong… Peach could have sworn she'd seen the sky from down below, now… there was nothing but a solid mass above her. The princess' worn out boots clicked against a firm black-marble surface as the stairwell opened up to the sky once more. She shuddered, the ethereal lines that came out from the stairwell twisted into patterns against the rooftop's vaguely circular form. Steps taken reverberated with sound and light, the same under each foot that she'd seen when the toads struggled within the walls. Peach shivered as winds whipped around her, shoving her ungloved hands into her pockets.

Spires, enormous twisting protrusions lined the outside of the platform. Their twisting bodies pointing with a red-glowing jagged edge. However, that wasn't what called the princess' attention. Not far above them, just above the platform… in the sky was a twisting vortex.

"Princess! What is that?!" One of the toads screamed, clinging onto the princess' leg in fright. It was twisting the sky itself, pulling the wind and light with it.

"That…it can't be. The way out?" Peach mouthed the words silently to herself as she felt her hand running over the rocky bit that had been left in her pocket. _That's it! I'll just use this and…_ The princess' thoughts were interrupted by another rumbling, this time the shaking being strong enough to fling the princess off of her feet and onto the black-marble floor.

"Ugh…" Peach moaned as she pulled herself up. With a loud screech the spires that surrounded them began to twist and turn until their glowing points were aligned towards the vortex above the three of them. _What…what is happening?! _The princess tried to hold on as the roar had settled into a groan-like noise that seemed to shake not only the platform, but the very sky itself.

Cyclonic winds began to charge inwards, whirling in a maelstrom around Peach as she tried to pull out the fragment from her pocket yet again. The stone fragment was secure in the zipped pocket that she'd left it in for safe keeping, but each time she attempted to reach for it... It was as if something was trying to stop her, again and again.

Peach turned her head as the sound of breaking stone had joined the cacophony; cracks had begun to form, echoed by glowing lines of light as the cracks covered the body of the platform. Her hand reached for the parasol, knowing what would happen if she'd fall.

"Grab onto me!" Peach's voice was barely audible over the combined sound of the wind and the roar that seemed to come from everywhere at once, though the toads heard enough to grasp onto her legs. Pulling out her parasol and opening it, Peach felt the wind-caught umbrella pull her and the screaming toads off of the platform just as it gave out. Updraft winds pulled her upwards as Peach pulled out the monolith fragment, looking over its rough gray surface for a moment before the platform below her cracked open.

_What now… what now!? _She'd seen it once before, when she was deposited onto the mountain of soot-black snow… And again when she'd followed Meyril into the putrid desert-bog, as well as when she'd dived into the Obsidian Ocean… A massive formless wall, a mouth-like structure that she'd once mistaken for a cave jutting out of its side. It was just as unpleasant to look at now as it was before, as Peach knew that she was at the mercy of the updraft winds maintaining their energy to keep her from falling into the mass.

_Is...is that what its body looks like?!_ Peach murmured aloud to herself as she looked down into it with awe. She could hardly see much of it beyond the mixture of green, black violet, and scarlet red burning over its body as it reached for her. Some part of it opened, revealing a massive gaping maw… The toads were screaming, clinging tightly enough to be cutting off the circulation to her legs. Peach wanted to scream, her body wanted to quake. She closed her eyes; this wasn't how it was going to end... Not after all she'd been through.

Princess Toadstool let go of the chunk of rock in her hand, bringing the hand to meet the other in clinging onto the parasol as the updraft seemed to lower her down back into the gaping maw. Nothing... She couldn't hear anything, her body numb... _This…this is it… I'm sorry everyone… _Peach didn't want to open her eyes, she didn't want to see her fate... the princess clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the end.

...

...

...

For what seemed to be an eternity, all Peach could hear was her own heartbeat. The only thing that seemed to go through her mind... the only thing she was thinking about was about the day her father died, when he'd said his last goodbye to her and died of his illness. She'd spent almost half a year crying. They were there for her... the toads had comforted her and led her through that terrible time. _Am I really going to fail now… now, when they need me the most?_

A muffled roar was what pulled her back, looking downwards as the towering monolith had erupted inside the mouth-like opening. The mass writhed as the spheres of stone continually expanded within its maw, bursts of winds shooting upward as it tried to force the stone out of itself. _I'm…I'm… going up?!_ The bursts were propelling the princess upwards, the world around her spinning, The crumbling tower, the horrible thing below… all shifting until fading into nothingness.

A white light overcame Peach. She was descending, slowly... but as the initial blindness wore off, the princess could see the green fields that stood just outside the castle walls. Down below, on the white marble bridge that cross the moat she could see Mario standing there, as if waiting for her.


	12. Chapter 12

Epilogue:

Peach washed her hands in the water that flowed out of the small recess in the wall. Returning from that place she'd found herself with Mario, outside her castle… In her return she had somehow retained the gown that she had worn upon entry. No, she had managed to convince Mario to return the power stars before the party. Could it have been from the nature of the place within the walls? Even now her head spun, as if returning to her own world was simply overwhelming her mind and body. Some things seamed to flow in and out of consciousness, the toads mentioned that she spent a lot of time looking carefully at the paintings in her gallery. Surely they didn't know, even the ones that had returned with her didn't seem to remember.

Persistent, that's what it was. Every other moment the memories seemed to resurface, despite her attempts to bury them as fast as possible. Allies that she'd lost due to that world were already forgotten. _Could it be an effect of that place? How could she have been the only one that still remembered? _ It was fresh in her mind, the faces of the toads she had lost. Toads that died because of her irresponsibility, even if she'd begun taking charge again… It doesn't change the past. So what if Peach survived to find her way out?

Safe, she was supposed to be safe here. Today would be the third day since her return that she would go to sit outside, watching the castle. _I don't even know what it was, despite Demwi's words… There was nothing in the libraries regarding the paintings. _Listening to the sounds of birds singing as they flew through the garden outside helped the princess breathe easier. Long stretches of green grass stemming from the shimmering blue water of the moat were things she had never realized would mean so much to her. Now, especially now that she had made it back home. Outside not much seemed to change though, even with Bowser defeated much of the castle simply went back to normal. Touches of white clouds dotted the blue sky as the princess strolled by, painting it almost as a mirror to the interior of the castle. She would be ready, ready to defend the castle should the Shelled King attempt to attack again. After what had happened this time, Peach was not going to take another chance. _Father, mother… I will show you that I can be a queen. Even if the castle is breached again, I'll try to stay strong. Running away wouldn't solve anything. Understanding what this castle means… Not to mention what is sealed within… That is something I must learn. _

How the toads would still stand with her was something to behold, Peach couldn't help but smile. Even now… Great fields of emerald grass, shining brightly with the morning dew expanded around the princess. Rainbows of light shimmering off the droplets of collected water. A small flock of bluebirds flew down from the white puffs of clouds in the sapphire blue sky, their soft songs wrapping around them. Singing along with the birds as she closed her eyes, Peach spun around until she fell backwards into the soft grass. Perhaps it was because of the smell, a pungent aroma of morning and light, but the princess felt at ease now. Outside of that world, where the grass was a startling shade of indigo and shattered as if dry and dead… Further and further into the world she knew. The bluebird landed on her crown as she lay there, peering its head side to side as it looked into the princess' eyes.

"How are you, little one?" Eagerly the princess raised her gloved hand and gently rubbed the bird's head. "Even you huh? No one knows what I saw… The other toads… It seems even those that survived remember nothing about that place. The strange thing is, Elnar was found nearly dead in the tower and no one knows why… You think he might have been trying to save me?" It was strange; they found the poor toad almost dead of internal injuries… Something of a wild look in his eyes… Screaming, that's how Peach would describe it. Though the toad wasn't able to speak, she could almost see relief in his eyes at seeing her return. "You think… It…" Soft grass drowned out her train of thought, threatening to lull the princess to sleep outside. Shifting slightly in place, Peach could feel the bluebird jumping off of her crown and flying away. Toadstool, Queen Toadstool… It would have been a while since that name had been referred to in the kingdom. Likely it was her mother's memory that kept her from wanting to take that title… Little by little though… The title would grow on her, it should after all. Here, in the Mushroom Kingdom. Evermore the land of her ancestors and hopefully her descendants… Rather that it would still be here for them. Even though it came so very close to being consumed by something she still did not understand.

It was something she could do though, destroying the paintings seemed to be too much. Never mind that if she did so, there wouldn't be any way to help Demwi escape. The fact that the seal had been successfully replaced meant that she could try to find a way to rescue them. Helping the toads that she was forced to leave behind, so that they wouldn't be forgotten… Elnar had tried, despite his injuries, to take her somewhere. Knowing… In this world there was no way of knowing, but Peach could see something of understanding in his eyes when they looked into hers. Not like she was planning to forget what had happened, since the night of her return she had begun to write a journal. Gathering her memories so that one day, even if she did not succeed… Demwi, the others could be saved. Others had survived, even some she had seen fall into the abyss. Maybe, maybe there was a way for them to escape from within the walls as well.


End file.
